SUMMER TIME AND LIFE LESSONS!

We made it!  Barely… to the end of 1st grade.  And I should say by "We", I mean me.  At the first of the year, I'm all over it.  Back pack is cleaned out every night, conduct sheet dutily signed and reading minutes faithfully recorded.  After the first of the year, not so much.  By May, I don't even know if the conduct sheet comes home.  Backpack is spewing papers weeks old and we are guessing at reading minutes, if they happen at all.  I crossed that finish line on my belly, but finish I did.  And you got Perfect Attendance.  So I'm petting myself on the back for getting you to school EVERY. DAY.

Why is there so much crap for a parent to do every day in elementary school?  It's exhausting.

But, alas, I now have a 2nd grader who is an above average reader and made the highest remarks in every subject most of the year.  You always got a 2 in "Follows Directions Consistently", but you are my child and if the 1st paragraph is any indication of my ability to follow directions - there you go!

I was not able to attend Field Day, but Tyress's mom sent me these pictures.  Tyress is a great friend and a super sweet kid - although he eats ALL. THE. TIME!

1st grade Ceremony

And so with all the formality of school over - we started summer with you very first Church camp - Camp Pine Cove In The City!  This is they day camp to the sleep over camp you will go to next summer and you had a blast.  It was also a brilliant distraction to the life lesson I will speak of later.  

Camp looked so fun, I wanted to stay there with you and every night, you came home with stories.  Your cabin name was Coolangata 3.

And now to the part of your life Jackson, that I do not want to journal for you, but it's important that I do.  We lost one of our River neighbors to a horrific and unjustly murder.  You do not know the full story and I have no intentions of telling you.  By the time you read this, if ever, you will be old enough to process and I will fill you in then, but for now - your mind automatically went to car accident when we told you Marion was gone and your dad and I left it at that.

Marion was someone we spent a lot of time with as you play with his son Landon a lot.  We spent as much time on their boat last summer as we did our own.

Jackson and Landon

 Marion (back of), Landon and Jackson

 Kenny, Ricky and Landon

This entire episode, along with Emily's murder in March, are two aspects of your life, I wish I could erase.  You know the full story about Emily, that someone bad got to her and she is with Jesus, but I could not bring the violent world back into your hemisphere in such a short time frame with Marion.  Emily's murderer is already behind bars and the police are closing in very fast on the two people who took Marion from this world.

You are handling the loss of Marion quite well.  But you've always had this very conceptual idea of Heaven and Earth.  When you were little, you used to tell your dad and I stories about things you and Jesus did together before you came to us.  In fact, you told us once, very matter of factly, that Jesus lived in our pop camper in the driveway.  

Don't ever lose your sweet, innocent spirit my sweet child.  I will always protect you as best as I can and your dad would move the Moon and Stars to keep you from harm, but this world has a very ugly side.  I am struggling on how to even teach you how to deal with it.  You can't ignore it, or it can sneak up on you, but you can't live in fear either.  Surround yourself with people who love you and will take care of you and know that God has a plan.  We do not know all the twists and turns, but His plan is perfect - know that for certain.