Flip's World.

Philip Dean Jerger AKA "Flip" graduated with all the pomp and circumstance from preschool with honors. His honors are: being all boy, best in sound effects, and "most likely to live it up all the days of his life." This graduation was a little different for me because he is so different. Ruthie and Rusty both had a serious side to them. So, I didn't worry about what Kindergarten held for them. I mean I worried, the normal worries...did I do everything I could to get them ready but I didn't worry about them sitting still and listening. I didn't worry about them following the rules for the sake of following the rules. Flip is well, Flip. He lives in his own world and he likes it there. Everything makes crash noises in his world, especially his hands. He walks to the beat of crash noises, falls asleep to the rhythm of crash noises and he plays with cars, power rangers and Legos that crash, with noise.

Going into the ceremony, I knew they would sing One Small Voice. The graduates always sing this song and I cry every year. I told him, (he's a bit of a ham on the stage) to please sing out so I could hear his voice during that song. He did so well during all of his songs, only "zoning" into Flip's World at one point during the Florida Alphabet. And then it happened. The music started and wouldn't you know that during my song, the one I wanted him to sing for me, he stood there, filled his cheeks with air and proceeded to pop them with his hands. I had to laugh because it was so "Flip." I looked up at him and he looked down at me and I made a face to let him know I was sad he wouldn't sing it for me...and he left his world, like he sometimes does to be part of mine for a little while...just to make his mommy smile, and cry.