Savannah's 6th Grade Graduation

It is really hard for me to believe that my first baby is all done with elementary school. It's just plain crazy that she will be in junior high in about 7 weeks. She's not even 4 ½ feet tall yet. (One more inch.) She doesn't technically need to wear a bra yet. Not even a training one. =D But she wears a sport style just for modesty. She has yet to use a razor. I still have to remind her (read: force her) to do some basic hygiene somewhat frequently. She still asks me to come down to her room to say goodnight.

I have mixed emotions. On one hand I don't want her to grow up. On the other I know she's 12 ½ now and should be doing, acting, looking like a 12 year old. When I was twelve I remember not really caring to dress to impress but I always wanted to be older than I was. I always looked forward to being that one year older. I wanted to shave my legs, wear makeup, babysit for a job, etc. Savannah mentions shaving here and there but other than that I think she's perfectly fine staying on the younger side of a twelve year old. I'm ok with that most of the time.

Well, the day finally arrived to say good bye to the elementary school days. The sixth grade classes put on a little program for their graduation. The D.A.R.E. graduation was part of the program. Some kids received special awards for D.A.R.E. and all received a certificate stating they finished the program. Some kids received special awards for the amount of Accelerated Reader points they had for the year. Some received a Presidential Award for excelling at good grades and for testing high on the end-of-level tests for 4-6th grades. Some received a "Hope of America" award. Savannah was a lucky recipient of this one. On the certificate it says, "Presented with honor to Savannah Hansen, who has demonstrated during this school year capacity for leadership, ethical and moral character and outstanding academic accomplishment." She was one of about ten kids to get this one.

This makes me stop for a minute. I've just read through the last paragraph and realized what Savannah has gone through this last year and all the previous grades. Savannah has a "high-strung" kind of personality. But a couple years ago this increased quite drastically, or at least noticeably, in a particular part of her life. Very frequently she would either wake up in the middle of the night or before she had even fallen asleep and tell me that she felt sick to her stomach. She would be shaking, breathing hard, and look panicked. She was terrified of throwing up and if the thought came to her mind even briefly she was done. It was all downhill from there. I have spent hours with her in the bathroom over the last few years trying to calm her down in the middle of the night.

I finally had enough, realizing that this was out of her control and brought her to a therapist. After about 9 months of therapy and it only helping a little bit we finally moved in the direction of a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with a general anxiety disorder (and a bit of o.c.d.) and prescribed medicine. Within just a few days her teacher told her that she seemed much more relaxed. (We continued therapy too.) We started the medicine at the beginning of December. By the next parent-teacher conference her teacher pointed out the improvement in her grades and test scores. Her teacher also pointed out again the difference she noticed in her overall disposition during class. Savannah has always done well and slightly above the class average but not to the point of accolades. (I was hoping it would also improve her willingness and desire to read but to no avail.) But not one time has she had anxiety during the night since starting the medicine and this has been a true blessing. I think had we started this medicine a couple years ago her school experience would have been a little different.

Savannah is the bottom row (of course; she's the shortest) in the middle wearing a bright pink shirt. They're getting ready to start the program.

Singing the D.A.R.E. song

I can't remember why she's up there for this picture. It might be for her award.

I KNOW this one is for her award. ;)

Mrs. Dahlberg, Paige (her good friend she developed over the last several months), and Savannah. Yep, she's 'fun-sized'.

Paige and Savannah. Their theme for graduation was 'fiesta'.

Taking note of the size difference.

I'm sad I didn't get a picture of just her. I didn't even realize it til I uploaded these pictures. I think it was because the program went on for just over 1.5 hours and it was hot and Jon was in a rush to get to work.

Junior high is going to be a new adventure for both of us. I'm worried and excited for her at the same time. If she can keep her anxiety and worry level down I think she'll do fine. Another thing she has struggled with is keeping good friends and I'm hoping that instead of it being harder that having a bigger pool of kids to choose from that it will be better for her. *Keeping my fingers crossed* Good luck, Savannah!