~and so Colorado, fare thee well~

And so we have made it to Wednesday and the very last day of school in this my 37th year of being a teacher.  It comes as no surprise about how fast the time flew by.  While I was busy teaching and the kids were busy learning, the hands of the clock on the wall kept moving right along each and every day.  Now our time together is nearly through and although I feel a real sense of sadness, I am still very happy that I was able to be called "teacher" by them for this their 1st grade year.  Many of them, I shall never see again but I have made a memory of those little people in my heart and it is that wonderful recollection of my days here that I shall take with me down the road.  I love them so very much.

Yesterday was a great day at school even though we were really busy finishing things up.  For the past couple of days that we have been together, I've felt a tear or two welling up in my eyes from time to time but I have managed to keep it together.  You know, I was doing pretty dang good until late afternoon yesterday when one of the little ones in my class gave me a gift that she had painted for me at one of the local pottery places here in Montrose.  When I pulled it out of its bag and unwrapped the covering around it, I could not help it.  The tears just would not be held back any longer and I hugged that little girl as if there were no tomorrow.  The rest of the kids, well they understood and I saw a couple of them run over for a tissue and they gave them to me.  In my tears, I reminded them what I have told them over and over again this year.  

"You guys, what do you do if you ever have a teacher who says they do not love you?"

To that they replied,
"Find another teacher."

I will finish up my work at school this afternoon and with that my 2 year stay here at Olathe will be through.  My room will have been emptied and one last carload of stuff taken back home to finish packing with all of the rest of our things here.  Tomorrow we will do laundry, finish up last minute packing and cleaning in order to be ready to get the moving truck on Friday.  By late this weekend we will be ready to head out to a new life, a different one, in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Only God knows what lies ahead and when you stop to think about it, that's more than ok.  

In 5 days more it will be time to say "Fare thee well" to Olathe and Montrose, Colorado.  When I came here 2 years ago at this very same time, I wondered what in the world was I thinking by moving here?  Today as I prepare to leave this place nestled deep in the Rocky Mountains, I have seen what God's plan was for me all along.  

It shall more than likely be a while before I see this place and the good people who became our friends once again.  But inside my heart they are all going with me to a new home upon the plains of Texas and that is a wonderful feeling to be sure.

The remaining time here will be busy and so this shall be my last blog post until we get settled in our new home sometime next week.  Many times in my travels between Kansas and Colorado I have asked for prayers of safety along the way.  I have been "prayed over" Monarch Pass by a whole bunch of people on countless occasions.  This journey shall be no different; the need is the same.  Please my dear friends, would you pray us from this spot all the way to our new home?  The trip will not be easy and the load will definitely not be light but I really do believe that we will make it just fine.  The same God who traveled with me here will be right beside us all the way back to the plains.  

All things considered, what more could I ask for?

From a place far away, I wish you well my dear friends and family.  Pacific Ocean side of the great Continental Divide, I shall see you again some day.   It's been a lot of fun and a most memorable journey.

                                        Two years tomorrow~we actually made it :)