And I'll create something like this:
A Key Academy Celebration
Can you believe it? It hardly seems true.
Connor, you started Key Academy at
two.
Six years have slipped by and today is the day
For this Willis family to go on its way.
“I remember,” says Connor, “My buddy named Tucker.”
“Yeah, Bro,” Lane teases, “And Skylar! Now pucker!”
Okay, that’s enough. Boys please get in the car.
Anna Kate, are you ready? “Yeah Mom--I’m the star!”
Let’s count the blessings Fiona’s provided,
The trips we have taken, the friendships she’s guided.
At Key, Anna Kate, you were like all the others,
Treasured and loved, just like your big brothers.
Connor, you always felt comfortable there.
Not one other preschool could even compare.
I remember (it seems like a short time ago)
When Anna Kate came here to learn and to grow.
Blue eyes and a blankie and not quite a curl.
She ours! What? Huh? She’s MeMaw’s girl?
MeMaw’s the best, Kate would be with her still,
But then Ms. Kathy drove down Bumpy Hill.
Details? Ms. Kathy never misses a one.
And Miss Anna Kate, well she loves her a ton.
Ms. Lori came next, for our three-year-old missy:
A kind, gentle teacher for our girl oh-so prissy.
“Hey mom, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
Sure Lane, what’s up? “Well, Mom, use your discretion,
“You don’t have to tell me, you can decide:
Does Ms. Fiona make teachers go to Southside?”
“What about my teachers? Me! Hello?
I was there first. Don’t I get a say-so?”
Connor, come on now. Fiona was it.
You had only her, you have to admit.
“Oh no, Ms. Fiona, she wasn’t the leader.
Although, I remember, she was a good reader.”
It’s true, though, Fiona’s the boss of them all.
“Not so, Mom, Ms. Fiona—she plays kickball.”
Lane, do you have some memories that you’d like to share
From summers and field trips and after school care?
“Yeah sure! Patterson Farm—now that place is cool;
Our matching swim suits when we went to the pool;
Singing songs to the seniors—the Christmas serenade;
Riding on the float in the Mooresville Parade.”
“We're almost there now. Key Academy is near."
"But Mom, how ‘bout the teachers I had this year?
“How could you forget Ms. e’lissa, Ms. Joanne,
And also Ms. Lori and the great big white van?”
Ms. Lori’s the one who talks kind of strange.
But I like her so much, I don’t want her to change.
Ms. e’lissa is calm, even when I am wrong.
And Ms. Joanne taught me I always belong.”
Well, here we are finally at Anna Kate’s Graduation.
But really, for us, it’s a Key Academy Celebration.
So now let’s hold hands, Anna Kate in the center.
And we’ll say a prayer just before we all enter.
“Thank you dear Jesus for
Fiona and the rest.
Through them, our family has
truly been blessed.
You’ve given Fiona a ministry
here--
To reach out to children, to
hold each one dear.
And so we just thank you for
these past six years.
And we lift up our hearts to
you through our tears.
You knew what we needed each step of the way.
We give you our thanks for Key Academy today."
©2007 Aileen Mitchell Lawrimore
