You serve his breakfast wearing sunglasses because you can't stop the steady stream of tears that are rolling quietly down your face. He does not say, "Hey mom, why are you wearing sunglasses in the house?" He is dealing with his own excitement and nerves.

After carpool picks up, you crawl into bed with the sobbing seven-year-old brother who cries, "I never wanted him to go to school."

After a good cry, you go on with your day - cleaning, cooking, homeschooling the younger brothers. One eye is on the clock. You are the second van in the carpool line and even remember to put your LAST NAME sign in the dashboard. Carpool boys pile in smiling and sweating.  

"How was school?" you ask.

"I love it," he says.  

You knew he would.  

Joy is unleashed.  

So now, the night before his last day of sixth grade, how do you thank the people responsible for doing the hard work every day of making Cambridge a safe, loving, and Christ-filled place, where learning is fascinating, delightful, and life-giving? Who do you thank for granting your son the chance to sing, play soccer/flag football/basketball, dance, act, and run cross country?

He has been prayed for and prayed with, exposed to great books, memorized John 15, mastered difficult math concepts because they were taught clearly, star gazed at his teacher's house on a Friday night.

He has been asked hard questions, assigned relevant projects, attended amazing field trips, created diverse physical education units, and spent hours rehearsing plays.

C.S. Lewis said, "Joy is the serious business of Heaven." Cambridge School is truly a taste of Heaven for the students who spend their days there and for the families who benefit from their kids' school experience. 

Right before my eyes, my precious son turned from boy to young man from September to June, and it was not just because he learned how to tie a tie. He loved every minute of this school year, and he even found time to teach his little brother how to pitch a baseball and blow a bubble.