My mad dash to Henry's graduation

I looked down at my watch, it was 8am. I was still stuck inside the waiting area before my practical exam starts. I look around and I see some of classmates doing some last minute reading, others were reviewing each other with questions and some were already agitated because of the exam they're about to take. I was already agitated myself. You see this was not just an ordinary exam day for me. It was also Henry’s moving up day from kindergarten which was also scheduled at 8am. I didn’t want to miss this big day for my son. I wanted to be there for him.

It was a moving exam which means we had to take it by groups. I had already asked my professor in advance if I could go with he 1st group since my son was graduating. It was a great thing that she agreed. Thank you Dr. Alvarado! 

At 9am, the exam was over and just in time. I looked at my phone and found a text from the husband. “The program is about to start”, it said. I thought, well great! I would still able to make it and maybe miss only the opening ceremony. I ran to the nearest bathroom and changed my clothes since I was still in my school uniform. Luck was on my side as I immediately got a cab. 

On my way to the venue, the husband and I exchanged text messages. He gave me a blow-by-blow on what was going on during the ceremony. Henry had already performed twice, he recited a poem and had a song number with his classmates and I missed it. I felt like such a bad mother.

Singing Put a little love in your heart

I was 10 minutes away from the venue when I got a text that the giving of the diplomas was about to start. They were giving it by section and Henry’s class was going to be the 2nd to be called. I had time. Maybe I was going to see this one, I thought to myself. I was almost there anyway. I was getting nearer and nearer. 

Finally, the cab stopped in front of the venue. And just when I was about to step out of the cab, my phone I heard my phone make a sound. It was a text message from my husband saying Henry had just received his diploma. I can’t believe I missed this as well. 

I ran up to the auditorium just before they were about to sing the closing song. I went near the area where the graduates were and saw Henry. I saw him look back at me and gave me a wave. He had a big smile on his face and it was just so lovely to look at. I hope he did not notice that I was not present during the rest of the ceremony. I’m really glad I still made it even for just the final minutes.

Family picture with our graduate. I'm still in my school shoes. 

Looking back on this day, I realised that I may not be always there for Henry, for his big moments. After all, it wasn’t just his graduation. Last year, I spent Christmas Eve and New Year’s day at the hospital, away from my family. As a young doctor, there are times when I will be on duty and I will be on call. I just hope that he will understand. I can’t promise that I will always be there but I promise that I will exhaust every means just to try to make it.

Have you ever missed a child's big moment? When was it and how did you make up for it?

Mommy Duties: The UN Day Celebration

October is indeed the month for costumes. Aside from Halloween, Henry also needed a costume for his school's United Nations Day celebration.

Classes in the casa level were divided to represent each of the 7 continents of the world. Henry's class got Asia and he was assigned to represent China.

Here's the costume that he needed. Aside from this he was also required to have a sash with the name of the country written on it. Parents were also given the freedom to modify the costume.

Good thing I found  My China Dolls easily online. They sell imported cheongsams for kids directly from China. I chose this emperor outfit with red vest. I also purchased the head dress from them. The owner was very easy to talk to and I even picked up the costume at her house.(If you want to order from My China Dolls then you better hurry because she mentioned that she will stop importing them to concentrate on her kids and day job. So stocks are very limited now.)

I DIY'ed his sash by creating a stencil with my Silhouette Cameo since my penmanship is really bad. 

And, here is my little Chinese emperor all dressed up with his costume and sash.

The program started with a parade with each class coming out one by one and being introduced on stage.

After which, each class performed a song and dance number. Here's Henry with his classmates after their performance.

The program finished with the whole casa level singing "I want to teach the world to sing". I was especially proud of Henry during this portion. See when I went closer to the stage to take a video, it was so obvious in his face that he was feeling very uncomfortable. But, he was still singing and doing the actions to the song. When they finished, he stood up and ran up to me to tell me that he needed to pee. No wonder he had that face, he was fighting his urge while at the same time he was trying to give a good performance. Such a trooper. At this age, he already knows that the show must go on no matter what.

Closing Song with the whole casa level

Here are more pictures from today's event. 

Me with my little trooper

Kung Fu Panda

By the way, I have to commend everyone who made this production possible. The backdrops were really amazing and all the kids were so cute in their costumes. 

So now that we're done with this, it's now time to work on that Joker costume. 

Thanks for visiting today,
Ditas