Waverly School: “Counting On”

Last Wednesday, my son “Harry” (Pasadena Now Schools changed the names of individuals mentioned to protect their identity) made a game winning touch down, passed to him by my other son “Sam”, at one of two middle school flag football games I missed in one week. Fortunately, there were Waverly parents there, parents who not only gave them rides, but cheered them on, and later told me all about the game with enough excitement, pride, and detail to make me feel like I was there. One of these parents also took my sons home and fed them dinner, as I was working at a Waverly event into the evening. Grateful is not a strong enough word to convey what I feel for the Waverly parent community.

The first time one of my children got lice, it was discovered by another Waverly parent. I was working late, and this parent had offered to take my son along with hers to get a haircut. Needless to say, the haircutter was not able to finish the cut. Rather than calling me embarrassed and worried that my child had passed the critters along to her entire family, she went to the drug store, bought a lice removal kit, and proceeded to treat my son’s head. By the time I got him, he was lice-free. This was a stand out event in my personal history of how Waverly parents have supported my children and me, but only one of many instances of times I have felt speechless gratitude for a Waverly parent the past twelve years.

Last week alone, parents drove each another’s children to games as well as various other sports-related practices, set up and sold books for our book fair, planned and sponsored a literacy night, drove and supervised our youngest students on a field trip to a pumpkin farm, baked for and set an amazing spread for an admissions event, delivered, served, and schlepped dirty and clean dishes for pizza, planned, decorated, and helped supervise a middle school Halloween dance. And finally, after weeks and weeks of meetings and planning, parents transformed the elementary campus for a Halloween party and haunted house that was a marvel of creative energy, dedication, and artistic effort; then, they cleaned it all up at evening’s end.

Waverly parents donate their time, talents, services, paper, ink, art supplies, business know-how, creativity, and expertise, but most importantly, they graciously give to each another’s children year after year.

So if anyone can take “Harry” and “Sam” to any of the three games this week, they need a ride; let me know!

A Grateful Parent

The Waverly School, 67 W. Bellevue Drive, Pasadena, (626) 792-5940 or visit thewaverlyschool.org.