School's out for summer!

Today I said goodbye to "my kids." And boy has it been a year...

I find myself getting really emotional and crying often over the fact that my kids are now moving on. Now these kids have tested and tried me this year... I know I've said things to them that I probably shouldn't have said but they have frustrated me beyond the beyond this year. They were nothing like the kids I had last year-- completely different--but today I really did hate to see them go.

The students I had this year went through so much. They lost one of their best friends in November. Another one was in the hospital from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day and came back to school part-time in March. One of our students lost her little sister in a tragic accident when her mom was backing up their car. We had a student get kicked out of school because he thought he'd be cute and write a bomb threat. Any one of those would leave a profound impact on adolescents... but all of them? It has taken it's toll.

It was a difficult school year for me too. Of course I got married in October. We bought a house and moved. I was finishing up graduate school all year. I almost got cussed out by a parent. I had my kids decide to tell the entire school that my marriage wasn't going well and that's why I was constantly upset with them (really? Haven't you ever heard of Aunt Flo?) so I cried in front of my students. I honestly called in sick some days because I needed a break from my kids. I drove one hour to school + one hour home = 2 hours on the road, everyday. And because of this I decided to put in a transfer request that didn't go through so I've ended up trying to get a job in my home county.

This year has been a difficult year. I already miss my students. They really did do well this year. I think I miss them already because I know next year they won't be able to come back and visit me. I loved that this year -- seeing my kids from last year and how mature they've gotten in high school. So for now I'm going to enjoy my summer. I'm going to enjoy my husband (who has 2 weeks off in July!) and I'm going get prepared for a new year in a new school.

Happy Summer!