The Last 'Monster Mash' Begins the End of an Era

We all have experienced those “ah-ha” moments in life, that split second when we realize the world has stopped spinning on its axis, when we realize “oh my god this is it.” The “ah-ha” can mean anything from a positive “oh my word I’m a parent” to “no, my child has not grown up so fast” or unfortunately something far worse. I am writing from the perspective of a parent whose “ah-ha” moment happened at an elementary school Halloween dance. The moment was not Earth shattering, it did not change the world or the course of history but I have no doubt there were twenty or thirty other parents at the Cleveland School on Friday night who felt that same “punch in the gut."

As we watched (sometimes in annoyance) our now fifth graders run from dancing and singing “Party something in the house tonight…” to the cafeteria to grab an ice pop or bag of popcorn, only stopping to ask us for money, in a frantic effort to make it back to the gym to “gangham style” with their friends - we collectively snapped pictures, laughed and, yes, we cringed. We cringed together without having to say a word. 

We all had "the look." A look that does not require words. It is the raise of an eyebrow while looking at our own child or the group of childen we have come to know and love. The raise of our eyebrows or collective parental complaints lasted a little longer than normal, we said we were happy it was the last Monster Mash, but none of us were. Our looks to one another said more than any words. We knew we did not want the night to end. We did NOT want this to be our children's last elementary school Halloween Monster Mash. We were not ready to let go of the innocence, this was the beginning of the end.

As the children danced and ran through the school, fifth grade parents all had the look, the "Oh my god this is really happening" look. Even as we talked and laughed about our children, we couldn't ignore it... and we couldn't say it. We were not ready to let go.

As the mother of a boy, I have to say I am suprised that at this age the girls openly danced while the boys repeatedly requested songs, supposedly dancing out of the camera’s view. 

I am surprised because these same children, just a year ago, were all dancing together. Two years ago they took over the dance floor, uninhibited. What am I in for?

I was given a glimpse of years to come.

Gone are the days when my son and his friends took to the dance floor freely. In second grade, he “owned” a corner of the gym with his friends Catherine, Hailey, Anthony and Solomon as they put on a break dance show that would rival anyone on America’s Got Talent. Third grade was close to the same, the only difference was that some boys were a little more reserved while my son finally chose to “get up and dance!”

Enter fourth grade... the yearly picture I took of him and his friends since pre-school, a picture with his friends Hailey and Catherine, became a bit more awkward but still existed, they still danced together, they still had fun running around the school.

Fifth grade is a completely new world; I can not imagine what middle school will bring.

My son’s class at the Cleveland, the entire fifth grade class is unlike anything I have experienced as a student or parent. The children are close, the parents are amazing, the staff is unheard of but most importantly my son and I have forged friendships that will grow far beyond the walls of the school on George Willet Parkway - isn’t that the goal of elementary school?

I'm not ready to let go.

I thought I was navigatiing this year, "the final year" surprisingly well and I believed it to be true until Friday. For some reason the first event, The Monster Mash, an evening which significantly marks the end of an era (elementary school) for both children and parents felt both fun and absolutely awful.

I wanted to laugh, to engage with parents and to ignore the fact that my son was running around more than he was dancing. I wanted to ignore how grown-up his classmates have become since first grade and how THIS, to a degree, is the end of their innocence.

I wanted to freeze frame time, so I did the only thing I knew how - I captured them on film. His classmates are so used to me showing up at school to capture events, excited to see their faces on Norwood Patch or in the paper, happily posed while I caught their innocent faces laughing at each other.

I witnessed first crushes, children dancing without inhabitation and friends laughing, laughing in a way that makes you wish you were a child again, that reminds you what it IS to be ten or eleven.

Life is not complicated; it is about one evening, for two hours with your friends. It is a night I will never forget and I hope my son and his friends cherish as this is the beginning… of the end.

This is the beginning of “firsts and lasts.” The first-last Monster Mash leads to the first-last class Halloween party, and so on. I hope they hold these days near and dear, yet at the same time I hope they do not think twice - do not think like parents and just “enjoy the ride.”

This is a tight knit group of kids who will undoubtedly carry their friendships onto Middle School next year, it is the parents (I will be the first to admit it) who worry the most and cherish every event.