The end of FIRST GRADE!

"MOM!!!!" Ella said, "have you ever seen a UNICORN????" 

"Um...well, not in real life but in movies...and my imagination," I stammered, starting into a story...

"Ok, whatever,  but do you think you can draw one, like, right now?" Her breath was quick and she stared up at me in wild desperation.

"Sure...why?" I asked, patiently.

"We started this AWESOME NEW CLUB at school...there are 5 of us and we play every day..." 

I just grinned and nodded. 

I know the rest of the story, as do most girls who had a childhood in suburban America. It goes like this: 

There were 6 of you, but then there were five, because one of them was a cute boy who got recruited in the beginning, then realized he was the only boy and ran away. Then you needed a name, and you debated between the Pretty Kitty Club, The Rainbow Club and The Unicorn Club. 

You moved on to the important topics of colors and what everyone should do and wear, thereby making everyone else wish they were a part of it. This part marks the innately human desire for social rank that would eventually be branded Cheerleading tryouts, Homecoming Court, Sorority Rush, and so on.

Then there was a debate over who would be President. It wasn't settled. Hungry for the lead position, Ella pulled the "artistic" card, which had always won me the elected office of my choice. Every club needs propaganda. And you can't get it without good design, which is yet another reason why Creatives rule the world. 

She very diligently wrote out her club rules, and she got out her markers and went to work. The next day, Ella had Mimi and I both making photocopies of the rules and the sign. It was on. 

I woke up the next morning, feeling like such an idiot. 

"Ella!" I rushed into her room and gently shook her awake, whispering: "You've gotta re-write the rules."  While I was embracing this sense of leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, I could not bear to send her to school enforcing Mean GIrl rules like "you must wear pink on tuesdays." What if a kid was in the club who didn't like pink? (then again..could  that be possible, given the name they had chosen?) 

You can see that I WAY over thought this.

From the edge of my sleepy six-year-old's bed, I delivered an Emmy-worthy speech on democracy, and how a tree with many branches bears more fruit than from one. At one point in my rant, I even compared the Declaration of Independence to Yelp and Pinterest, which is when her tiny blue eyes glazed over. So I got to the point:
"Write down one rule and make 4 other lines for each member to make a rule. Then follow them all. That's what true leadership is about."

And so it went. For the six shining days left in first grade, they made up dances and games and secret handshakes. Most of the girls are shown here, on the last day of school.

Right after this picture was taken, The Unicorn Club disbanded. Something about a conflict between two members that probably involved a dispute over who loved rainbows more. 

We went out for dinner that night, and I knelt down to Ella to ask if she was ok. She was staring beyond my shoulder...at a dessert being delivered to a neighboring table. "LOOK AT THAT HUGE SUNDAE!!" She gasped and giggled, clearly having gotten past the decay of her very first clique. 

We ordered one and shared bites with Derek and Carson, all of us clanking spoons in a toast to a much-needed summer break.