Last day of school!

When alarm went off at 5:45 this morning, I shut it off, and then "unset" it for the summer. I didn't want the alarm waking me tomorrow.

Today was the last day of school.

For the next couple of months, I'll wake when my body chooses. My biorhythms will shift; I'll take naps if I need to. And the bathroom-- I'll go when I need to now. No more being at the mercy of the bell.

I won't even try to pretend I'm not as excited as the kids. All teachers are.

Who wouldn't be glad to have a respite from the intensity that goes with the job? This intensity is something that only teachers understand; most folks think the job looks easy. It's not, but you have to experience it to see why.

Yet come September, I'll be just as excited to go back to school. It's in my blood.

About the time that my fifth graders-- former fifth graders, now-- were playing kick ball after supper, I took a walk.

I started thinking about "my kids." I'd miss this bunch, but I know they'll drop in and see me next fall. They'll come back to visit as sixth, seventh and eight graders. After that, they'll go off to high school, and even then, if I'm lucky, some come back to say hi.

Then I remember. Next year is my last year. I opted for early retirement when it was offered as a bribe to move the older, thus higher paid, teachers out. I will have taught for 36 years; that makes me sound older than I feel.

So my time behind the desk is limited to 180 more days. Don't let me tell you I'm looking forward to retiring, although I am, because I'm not quite ready to give up the profession I chose for myself when I was in first grade.

Next year I'll focus on "my kids" with a bright spotlight because every thing will be a "last time" moment. When the last day rolls around-- the final last day-- those hugs will be extra special. If you haven't been hugged by a fifth grader, you don't know what you're missing. I'll know, and I'll miss it. A lot.
~~~~~
I received this gift today from Emma.

Mrs. Douillette
You taught science, social studies, and English, too.
You're thoughtful and helpful which makes you you.
You knew how to make everything fun.
You work and encourage kids until their work is done.
You always come up with helpful tricks,
Any problem you knew how to fix.
You're always busy; you never stop.
On my favorite teachers list, you're way at the top.
Filling kids with knowledge with just one touch,
You know next year I'll miss you so much!
You were always there to catch me when I'd fall,
Mrs. Douillette, you're the BEST teacher of them all!

Did I say I'll miss it a lot? I will. Meanwhile, summer vacation. Yes!

For Alice~ She's home!!!!!!!

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes it's all about knowing that loved ones and friends stand behind you, knowing that support is there on the down days, the worry days, the days when you feel off-center, out of sync, bedraggled emotionally, and in pain, but knowing all the while that you're not alone. You're not alone... Alice is an online friend--she lives in Hawaii-- who belongs to the writer's workshop that I do. We've only "met" online, but those who have online friendships know that they can be just as strong as those in-person relationships. Alice was hit by a car while walking, and is in the rehab phase of things. She's working to regain mobility after a broken pelvis, a broken arm, and a broken nose. It's scary to realize how, in the blink of an eye, life can lurch and our plans for a time are displaced by survival and healing. We...

This retirement thing~

This retirement thing . . . it seems like it should be so easy, so effortless, so thrilling, to stop the daily grind. It is thrilling; at least I think it will be come September when I'm not following the school buses to work. But it's not easy. I had a plan book on my desk for 35 years, one I filled in weekly, scheduling new lessons at 45-minute intervals, meetings, parent conferences, and field trips. I knew what needed to be done and when. I got up at the same time everyday (5:45 a.m.), ate lunch at the same time (12:06 p.m.) and watched the kids pack their bags for home everyday at 2:15 p.m. I'm not sorry to give up that regimentation. But three weeks into the summer, I find myself making lists of things I need to do, and there is so much to do that I can't imagine how I managed while I was working eight hours on top of it all. There are the household chores, gardening, exercise (aren't retirees supposed to get fitter?), freelance writing, book reviewing, readin...

Lesson from a Weed~

If dandelions could talk, here’s what I think they might say: " Bloom where you’re planted, sink your roots deep. Smile in the sun, soak up the rain, and let the wind take you to new places." Dandelions are an early spring food for bees. They are often the first flower a young child picks for his mother and they provide a sweet moment for a mother to teach her child to make a wish and blow away the seeds. They speckle landscapes with lemon-colored glory. Common, and often disliked by those in favor of perfect lawns, we trample over them with hardly a thought. All this crossed my mind as I stood in this field of dandelions, most having gone to seed. I had an hour to myself at a retreat at a beautiful family farm on this day of unexpected sunshine and warmth. I was looking for a moment of stillness. I’d watched two swans, visited the alpacas, chatted with the chickens, tried to coax a kit...

~Upstream and Down~

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