Almost Graduation, but not Quite

Keira’s graduation was supposed to be May 5^th, and I had been told to get her a black shirt and black pants.  I had been looking for a couple of weeks and had bought the best I could find.

I took them into the school and showed the principal the black pants, and she smiled, but when I showed her what I had found for a black top, she laughed (and I don’t blame her).

This is a photo I found online, but in your imagination, add gold buttons down the front. 

Even though so many of the women here cover themselves completely in black year-round, it was very hard to find a black shirt for little girls (It’s summer, and black is hot!), so I had resorted to going to the bazaar and finding a black bolero jacket like this one, made for a petite woman. 

I told them (in my broken language) that I was going to cut the buttons off and sew up the front and hem the sleeves so it would fit my 5-year old better.  They just continued to laugh, but said it was okay.  They also suggested I go see a tailor.

I didn't go to a tailor.  I decided to keep looking.

On May 2nd, three days before graduation, I took a girls black shirt with a heart on it into the school office.  I was so proud of myself!  Doug had taken me to a new mall I had never been to before, and I had found it in the last store we went into.  

I asked the ladies if the heart on the shirt was okay, and they all said, “Yes.”

I double-checked that Keira should wear it on the 5^th for graduation, and they said, “Oh!  We forgot to tell you.  Graduation is going to be on the 14^th now, and class pictures will be on the 10th.”

I also asked when the last day of school would be and if the schedule would change during Ramadan.  They didn’t answer the Ramadan question, but they did say school would end on the 21^st, 22^nd, or 23^rd of May.

This kind of stuff drives me crazy, but it’s so common here.

I will tell the story of graduation soon, but let me say that at graduation, they walked down the aisle, sang, and then their teachers removed their cap and gowns before any parent could get a picture.   What we did get was a large class photo glued to a large piece of wood and a large single picture of Keira glued to a 5x7 piece of wood.

When I went to pick it up, all the teachers were laughing, telling me she looks so angry, and I had to hold my tongue knowing that Keira had told me that they told all of the kids they couldn’t smile.

Keira’s only comment was, “Mom!  I was NOT standing in front of that!  I was standing in front of a door.  I don’t know what happened.  And look at that guy!  He looks like he's squatting to go to the bathroom!”

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