It has been a crazy final month to my thirty year old teaching career,
and I want to try to capture the ride while itʼs fresh in my mind.
After my very last day of classes I was so emotionally spent, I came
home at 4:30 and fell in to bed and didn't wake up until 6:30 the
next morning. It truly is emotional; I have been teaching
for most of my life, and it would be very odd if I could walk away from
it without some visceral reaction. Loren threw me a surprise
party on Sunday which was great medicine- it made me so aware of the
joyous life ahead and the many wonderful people waiting to share it with
me. Then I went back to school reluctantly on Monday for the final
faculty meeting. Lunch followed, where the head of school said a
few words about each person leaving for whatever reason, and gave us
each a book of her choosing. The last commitment was to attend the
end of year party- which was very nice. THEN they presented me with an
amazing album filled with memoirs and memories and musings of alums,
students, faculty and staff- I haven't finished reading it all- I want
to take it in small doses and savor it- but it's extraordinary.
Middle schoolers are not very demonstrative when it comes to talking to
their teachers about their feelings- so to read some of the comments of
my students and how much English meant to them is incredible. The
comments from past students, relating memories years later about things
that touched them or that they "will never forget" wonderful to read-
but more importantly, it gives validation to the past thirty years in
the classroom. This album is very significant for me as I look
ahead. For all of you who have been a part of this final ride towards
retirement, my heartfelt thanks.
I want to share with you something that happened during the final weeks
of classes that really put
retirement in to perspective for me. Until then, I had been
looking forward to the new chapter, but hadnʼt really thought about what
it meant.
