scout's on his way to middle school

May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May you take no effort in your being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more nothing less
May you know the meaning of the word happiness
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breath...
~ i want you to have it all, jason mraz

these are some of the lyrics to the song that is used in the
background to this video (below) celebrating scout's elementary years.
originally, he asked that i use the school's theme song by cat steven song
titled, if you want to sing out. it's a beautiful song with an important message,
one that students learn in kindergarten and it's sung multiple times at special
events throughout the year. it's more of a mellow song and it didn't quite go
with the images i had pulled together. scout watched and agreed.  i asked
him for suggestions and he immediately said, how about the new jason mraz song.
he's been listeing to jason his entire life. he hears me play and sing it often.
we watched the video together with the new song and agreed, it was perfect.

it took several weekends of an hour here and there to create, but the
memories that this video captures are priceless. this is what life is all
about - making memories with those you love. 

explorer elementary has given scout a wonderful second home the past
6 years, but he's ready for bigger challenges that middle school brings.
like the lyrics cry out, i want him to 'have it all.  i don't mean material things.
i want him to have the things that money can't buy - confidence, close friendships,
excitement for learning and life and rich experiences.