Inside a Book: Goodbyes and Hellos

"How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to. "

Saying goodbyes and farewells to co-workers was emotional today. Due to budget cuts and decreased enrollment our school lost a staggering number of employees. We are grieving and saying goodbye was hard. Goodbye seems more final this year. An end and not a farewell til fall. An end of a year of laughter, tears, hugs and fears. Teaching those kiddos can be so darn hard. It drains you when you pour so much of yourself into them. We were blessed to do it as a team. To shoulder our burdens side by side. As a team we shared everything with each other.... helped out when we were sick, endured endless meetings side by side, shared 184 lunches, laughed til we cried nearly everyday, and worked in tandem; making our team the best. We've lived through marriages, babies, surgeries, lost loves, and new found friends. We've been together through jury duty, weathered sadness, and uncertainties. We are the B Building!! Here we greet each morning with hugs and leave each afternoon with hugs. All 8 of us! It's just who we are and we all love it that way. So how could we say goodbye? It just seemed too final....we decided that this would not be farewell but just another "see ya later." Then why was it so hard?? We know we will text often, call, and email...but ....I will miss long talks after school, catching up on the weekend activities, crying together, and a regular morning laugh. I will miss a particular giggle. Drats.

Goodbyes have always been hard for me. Maybe because the goodbyes in my life were always sad ones - they seemed permanent. Not like " see ya later"s.

My little first graders became misty and moisty this year - tears were ready to flow until we sang a silly song and gave hugs. This has been the greatest class - I hestitated for more than a moment when it was time to let them grow up! But... they know where to find me next year when life seems uncertain. Maybe that's why so many of my past students come by daily for that hug....they know where I am and that first grade love is unconditional!! I need to remember that!

I wrapped up the classroom in one hour today. It was hard to believe that it's been a year. The stacked desks and covered cabinets seemed sterile and somewhat lonely without the primary colored books, wall decorations, and pint sized bodies. Another year to say goodbye to.

So now I am ready for some HELLOs!

Today I will say a happier hello to awesome clouds, rainy skies, and cool temps! When I asked why I couldn't live in a place with this kind of weather all the time Rich responded that we had worked hard to get "kicked out of the Garden of Eden" and now had to live in some pretty imperfect places instead! Too bad....