Goodbyes

I sit with my foot on the metal bar under the patio table, gently rocking my chair. Wine in my hand and wind in my hair - yeah, I'm relaxed. The coolness of the wind gently sweeps over my radiating sunburn, taking the sting away for fleeting seconds here and there. The leaves are moving all around us, and Sophie (the pup) is captivating us all. We break out of our reverie to talk, laugh, and share pictures.

Goodbye is lurking in the background, the darkness we are ignoring. Acknowledging it would break the magic of this last time together. No, let's instead stay in denial and pretend like it's not really going to happen. Let's pretend like it's just another night together as a family.

Eventually Goodbye gets the better of us because it wins. We have to cave and embrace it. We don't have to like it, though, and you can bet that we won't. Sure, it's great to know we'll be seeing where life goes next, what it brings, and we know that we'll be sharing it still, but there's a sadness in this goodbye nonetheless. We know it won't be the same as this again.

But it was good while it lasted.

~"How lucky I am to have known someone whom it was so hard to say goodbye to." [unknown]~

The Last Day

What a day.

There were hugs galore from my kids. My co-op, the kids and their families, and some of the other teachers I've gotten to work closely with these past 6 weeks collaborated on a "teacher starter kit" for me full of stickers, pencils, pens, borders, stamps, notepads, Post-Its (ohh, how I love Post-Its!), and even resource books. I was literally speechless.

One of the bags even had all of the kids' hand prints in the school colors. I love it!

I got the sweetest cards from my kiddos and from my co-op, too. Here's one:

I'll miss them, too.

After school was a whole staff get-together where we sat outside in someone's beautiful backyard, drinking and snacking, and talking about so much. Doug and Delo made it, too. These are some truly fascinating and kind-hearted people, and I've been truly blessed in so many ways to have gotten to work with them and form friendships with them. They told us when we started that it's like a big family here, and they really meant it. This place is so unique that I'm not silly enough to believe I could find another place just like it anywhere else. It's been fantastic.

"Thank you" hardly seems like enough for this all, for all of them. This was exactly where I needed to be and exactly what I needed to do to prepare for next year. I'm excited to carry what I've learned into my own classroom!

Tomorrow's adventure is my first ever Field Day and my last ever day as a student teacher. I'm sure I'll end up with a few stories from that!

~"Encouragement is like oxygen to the soul." [John C. Maxwell]~

Almost There

Tomorrow's it...the last day of actual teaching in my student teaching career.

But my last full day of teaching is already over. Tomorrow will be some teaching and doing some observations.

Where did the semester go?

Begin typical college senior excited/nervous graduation freak out/panic about the short amount of time left as a college kid...

~"Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go." ["Time of Your Life" - Greenday]~

It's Hitting Me

Oh my.

The next time I have to wake up on a Tuesday morning to go and teach, it's going to be in my own classroom.

2 months from now I will be in my very own apartment.

A week and a half until I walk across the stage (praying I don't trip) at graduation.

Less than a week and a half until I see my family again.

Realizations about how real this graduation thing is and what it all entails keep hitting me.

~"With everything I have inside, everything I own, I might be afraid but it's my turn to be brave." ["Brave" - Idina Menzel]~

Movie Monday

Saw this video a while ago and thought it was pretty cool. I think it's remarkable that they got so many people to do it. And a Jesus-praising techno song -- who'd-a thunk it?

A Great [Easter] Song

This song was part of the Easter service this morning at church. What a fantastic Easter song!

The music's great. The lyrics are phenomenal. The video's footage, effects, and text are all delightful. I really hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it.

The service was one of my favorites that I've been here for. They had so many people involved in so many different ways. This church is wonderful about giving people opportunities to use their many gifts, and there are so many very talented people here. They even had a lot of children involved in today's service, which of course is always something I love to see. I'm really going to miss this church!

After church we had a big lunch, a big nap, and one of the other pastors and his family over to swim for a while. Delo made Easter baskets for us and even hid some eggs for us to find -- it was super-sweet! It was a very, very relaxing Easter.

So, dear friends, I'd love to hear about your Easters as well. I hope it was an all-around fantastic day!

~"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16]~

A Day on the Boardwalk

We drove to a town on the Gulf today called Kemah. The weather was gorgeous, there was a beautiful boardwalk to wander around, and this Midwestern girl got to see the waters of the Gulf.

And yes, today's theme song was "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters...despite always being on top of the boardwalk as we walked.

It started with a look around.

I still am unsure of the correct punctuation of "ya'll".

Couldn't pass up the swordfish.

This used to be a big port for the shrimping industry before Hurricane Ikewiped most of it out.

We spent a good chunk of time watching the pelicans float along and dive bomb for fish.

How many times in life will I come across the chance to partake in about 2 minutes of a hurricane simulation? The wind in that time thing got up to 80 mph.

All in all, it was a great day. But next time...

...I think I'll remember to bring sunscreen.

~"Girl, put your records on. Tell me your favorite song. Just go ahead let your hair down." ["Put Your Records On" - Corrine Bailey Rae]~