Congrats, Kaia! You woke up in a classless society!

That's right. Kaia woke up this morning for the first time in nineteen years in a classless society. No more PChem, BioChem, Physics. No more required core courses, elective education classes, creative writing, Russian literature. She's done. Beginning at two and a half, Kaia has been in class all her life. Dance classes, art classes, Pre-School at the New City Y, later at Little Shepherd, then grammar school at Naper School, and the PIP (Gifted and Talented district program) at Mill Street, whose Naperville students continue to be featured on a regular schtick on The David Letterman Show, Science Kids. A move to Colorado and middle school classes at Powell Middle School, and an early graduation from Heritage High School in Littleton. She's had summer enrichment classes and piano classes/lessons, basketball and soccer classes, and has even taught classes the past three summers through the Breakthrough Collaborative -- a national program with "Students teaching students" in a summer program for gifted middle school students at risk for falling through the cracks due to poverty, recent immigration or families at risk. Her life has been filled with class. Kaia has always had a lot of class! Today for the first time since Sunday School 'classes' in Chicago, where she first made the brown paper bag mask covered with cotton balls that turned her into a sheep showing up to receive communion through the sheepish mouth hole not quite attuned to her actual mouth, for the very first time in all these years, she's done with classes. Kaia woke up today for the first time in a classless society. No more classes. Theoretically, no more classes, ever. She could be done forever. There is no application in process, no enrollment forms on her desk. She's done! Now, theory is not always practice. Just ask the folks who attempted to bring us the first classless society. She is done. But for now. She does have a plan. And serious intentions to return to class. And she will. Medical school awaits. But not for a year. She's got a job ---- yes! a 2010 college graduate with a job!!! ---- in the medical field, an interesting, good one. She's going to use her education and her skills and interest to work for a year while she prepares for the MCAT and earns a little money. She's attended her last class. At least for now. And she's excited. Amazed. And appropriately proud of herself. She did it! Yeah, Kaia! Commencement will be Saturday, May 15 at "half after one o'clock on the lawn." There is a Baccalaureate degree waiting, with her name on it. Kaia, I'd welcome you myself to the classless society but I've got some lined up for this summer, myself. Enjoy this interlude. You have SO earned it! (old photos to follow when I get time to scan them in -- don't hold your breath; we're kind of busy at the moment! It's party time!)