Did you know boys like this when you were little?

I didn't.

My kids' small parochial school is closing this year. Tonight there was a talent show that ended with a celebratory "We Are Family" song. Everyone was on their feet, singing and dancing, and the teachers were egging them on all the way. Even though the moment looked from the outside to be a joyful one, it was bittersweet. It would be the last All Saints School talent show. Ever. I cried along with the handful of teachers that couldn't any longer keep their game face on for the sake of the kids.

Monica's fifth-grade classmates have especially developed a strong bond, where they are like family to each other. There isn't that boy/girl thing going on yet, and they work really well together on class projects and in the playground. They even started a school newspaper all on their own. It is gratifying to see them display such unity. Sure, they fight, but they always work it out. Well, the talent show finale was far too poignant for Monica, and she cried through the whole thing and all the way out the door and home and to bed. But while she was walking through the theater she passed one of her classmates, Bill. He said, "Monica, are you crying?" She said, embarrassed, "Yes." "Yeah, I cried too," he said, and then they passed each other.

Never, ever, ever in a million years would that conversation have happened in my childhood. Boys tease girls for crying, right? Boys don't admit that they cry, right? I'm so glad Monica has Bill as her friend, as I can see that there is something special there that goes beyond the silly school kid thing. I'm also glad that they will both be going to the same school next year, along with the rest of her class.