Today was my awards assembly for our school’s reflections contest.  Hallelujah!  This morning I left my house at 9:00, with all the entries, awards, medals, and certificates piled in the car.  I dropped John off at a friends, and drove to the school.  Since it was icy, I had to carefully pick my way along the sidewalk from the car to the school about 5 times back and forth as I brought my many boxes of stuff into the gym.  As I was setting up for the 1st assembly at 9:30, I realized what I had left home.  The basket of candy bars.  EEERG.  The kids were promised candy bars, and if I didn’t deliver candy bars, someone might complain.  I called my friend, who was going to come and help me, but I only got her answering machine.  I tried her cell, but no answer.  At 9:15 I saw her walking down the hall.  She was a complete doll and drove to my house, and picked up the candy bars.  Crisis averted.

At the assembly, we showed the slide show that Cole had made for me (pictures of all the entries set to music), then we showed our first place film/video winner, a darling claymation that I just love, and then handed out the awards.  For the lower grades that goes pretty fast, and we were done in one hour.

I had set up the non winning entries on tables, so that afterward, they could just come and pick up their entry, certificate and treats.  But then I had kids coming saying they couldn’t find their entries, and teachers saying that they had a child in tears because they thought they had entered, but couldn’t find it.  One or two art entries I can understand, but 10 that we can’t find?  I went to go look in my car between assemblies, and found a box right outside the door full of ….you guessed it….art entries.  Ugh.  I had put that box down so that I could open the door, but then forgot to go back and get it.  Oh well, crisis controlled.

The second assembly went well, with the kids clapping and cheering more than the little kids.  By the end of the slideshow, they were really cheering.  The words “We’d like to thank the following businesses for their generous donations” scroll by, and the cheering gets louder.  What?  Oh, I see.  They see the names of the businesses….Coldstone (cheering and screaming), Hale Center Theater, (crazed cheering).  By the time they read “Boondocks”, I think someone’s going to go home with larangitis.  I’m glad they were excited.

After delivering a few art entries to the younger kids, cleaning up the few extra medals and certificates, and collecting all of my boxes, I’m exhausted, but very relieved.  Hooray, it’s over!

I just have to get the entries ready to move on to the next level, but that won’t take me more than an hour (I hope).

So.  It is done.  Thanks for putting up with my whining and complaining.  I’m glad it’s over (and I’m sure you are, too!)

Tomorrow night we will have our celebratory reflections dinner, and use some of these free kids meals the kids won.  Mimi’s cafe, anyone?

And right now my kids are arguing over who gets to be the baby Jesus with the newly discovered nativity scene.  And I wonder why we lose a piece of this nativity about every year?