And now the time is near and so I raise the final curtain....

...for middle school that is. Today was Marisa's last day of 8th grade. It was a very KumBaYa day. And, yes, they wore jeans! So, here is a rundown of my conversation with Marisa after school:

Marisa: (calls me on the phone) So, Hi Mom.
Me: Hi, what's up?
Marisa: Yea...did you get my grades?
Me: Am I supposed to?
Marisa: Well, I got a D+ in Math....It was an F, but I corrected a bunch of stuff today and it's a D+ now.
Me: Marisa, your telling me this now. What's the deal?
Marisa: Well, I didn't get it, but I fixed it, don't I get credit for THAT?
Me: Whatever, at least you passed. Where are you?
Marisa: At the library with Tony. I'll walk back to the school.
Me: Ok, see you in a few.

So, she talks non-stop on the way home how high school will be a fresh start, she'll do better next year. Blah, blah, blah. I've heard this before.

Once we get home, we go through the backpack. It's a $50 Adidas backpack, no tears or rips, marks or scuffs. She really did take great care of the backpack. Anyway, the inside was filled with crustified crap. I'm talking: tiny pieces of paper, notes that were passed back and forth, pencil leads, wrappers, dead gum, an earring, a necklace, wax for the braces, toothpaste, toothbrush, a broken rubber band, an empty Propel bottle, a uniform shirt, carmex, 5 erasers, 2 spandex book covers, dust, a penny, cherrios, a star burst, and more dust (like from the bottom of a cereal box). We took it outside and shook it. Then, wiped it all down on the inside. Marisa took it to her room. She wants to use it next year, since it was so clean again.

So, what's in your backpack?