I drove down to a small town with my wife to attend a kindergarten end of year ceremony. There was a grandson involved.  People in Waxahachie take these seriously. We got there 30 minutes before it was supposed to start and there was already a line of 50 people waiting to get in.

The principal handed out great awards: best P.E. Spirit, Lego Master, Future Engineer, Kindness Award, Friendliness Award, and Most Improved at this or that. My favorite was “most improved”. It was so much nicer than saying you were really bad at this when you first got here.

Each kid got 4 awards with a certificate and a little Oscar statue. Their teachers posed with each one for the parent’s to take pictures.

The kids sang some songs. Actually, the music teacher sang and the kids joined in periodically between jumps, random hand motions, waving to family members, or picking at each other. It was very entertaining. My favorites were the girl in the shiny pink dress and pink cowgirl boots who waved at the crowd with both hands like she was used to being adored and, of course, my grandson.

Lots of grandparents were there, including us. All of the families cheered and clapped when their little one was announced. The kids beamed in return. 

As they all trooped off stage after the last song, my thought was how blessed these kids are. They are loved and cared for. They do not even know anything different. Which is how it should be. 

You should go to one of these, even if you do not have a kid in the school. It was the most wholesome and happy thing I have been to in a while. 

Say what you want about the state of the world, on that night, in that auditorium, there was nothing but love of parents and grandparents for their kids, kids reveling in that love, and educators who worked hard to honor their students and their families. 

Way to go, folks.