Tradition To Come

To my son Tommy,

When I was young in my grade school days I attended no less than six different schools.  It is the price of being an army brat I suppose.  You trade off consistency and tradition for adventure and new experiences.  Though I would not give up my past, I am not ashamed to admit that I am a bit jealous of your future in your education.

If all goes well, you will attend St. Agnes School till grade eight.  Since you started at nursery school this past year (nowadays it is called pre-k 3) that will be eleven years of the same school.  We attended and watched the St Agnes School play tonight and at the end when the eighth graders were doing their dance and then giving out flowers to those who helped them pull off the production, you were hooping and hollering and cheering with as much excitement and school spirit as anyone.  I realized that some day sooner than I realize it will be you up on that stage.  You will wait patiently for your turn while you celebrate and cheer on those that go before you.  Friends you have met this year will be friends and then enemies and friends again as you grow to high school.  You will have tradition to look forward to and to rely on.  You will have some of the same teachers that your mother and her siblings had teach them.  You will know from your family that others survived all the "perils" that face you as you advance through the grades year after year.  It is an exciting prospect and I am filled with giddy anticipation for you.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo