Well hello there…it’s been a while <3

People have been asking when they see me how many more days left of the school year. 

It wasn’t until this week that I could actually answer that with any clarity. 

Up until this week, when we actually are finished on Thursday, all I could do was rattle off when the seniors would be done and then mumble something about what needed to happen to complete a book and some projects, take quizzes and prepare for a final for the middle school classes. 

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Today I worked them through making their own study guide, threw out some of the test questions with dire warnings that they will definitely want to remember THIS and then repeated the answer I expect several times as I looked over the top of my glasses at their sweet little faces. 

If you know, you know. 

And hopefully they know. 

Tomorrow they will take their final for the class and then I will bid the 7th graders adieu. 

On Thursday they dismiss after the hour I have the 8th graders. 

I would love to think I will now be able to sleep through the night without waking and thinking about someone who is struggling with getting work turned in, or how I can get pronouns explained or how to get them interested in learning. 

But I know me better than that. 

It will be a bit before I stop wishing I had thought to do this or that for a lesson. I will think about different ones and pray they pick up a book sometime this summer and read. There will be moments when I replay a situation I could have handled better. 

And then eventually I will be on to a new normal. 

Eventually the tense feeling that I should be working on lesson plans, grading, finding resources will ease.

Eventually.

And sometime I will go over the notes I have kept to share what this most recent chapter of the Journey has taught me. You and I will have a good chat about it <3