~the teacher in me~

The rain has come down off and on nearly all the day long.  A check of the rain gauge shows that since last night we have received over 2 inches of much needed and appreciated moisture.  In the land that "used to be drought" every drop that falls is precious.

Along with the rain have come much cooler temperatures and cloudy, gray skies.  It's been the kind of weather where a person would just like to curl up with a blanket, good book, and a cup of hot tea to sip on.

Almost sounds like a good idea to me.

I normally do not write in this blog in the early evening hours.  My favorite and most often used part of the day for blogging is in the time before the crack of dawn.  I love to write when I just first wake up.  Some people think that I'm crazy, but I do.  It's my time of day.  I overslept this morning, waking up at 4:30 instead of my usual 4:00.  I had to hustle and get ready for school without blogging.

So here it is, now 12 hours later and another day of school has since come and gone.  I looked at the kids today, all of those children that entered into and left from my classroom.  I saw how much they had truly grown and changed over the course of the last nine months.  I remember the first day of this school year as if it was yesterday and for the life of me, I wonder where those precious days and weeks went.  My guess is that they went to the place where all time goes and they call it by one name and one name only.

Life.

"The 120" and I have given an entire school year of our lives to one another.  It's kind of amazing when you stop to consider it in those terms.  Every day, for better or worse, we have shared the same space.  I would be lying if I said that all of us always got along because we did not for we all belong to the same race, called "human".  As such, people sometimes have differences of opinions.  Our dissimilarities can sometimes cause problems but more often than not they end up being our greatest strengths.  In the end, we have all learned how to "meet in the middle" and I like that about us.

With only 7 full days remaining, I am nearly out of time.  I hope I have taught those 120 young people enough and if I didn't, well then I hope they will be ok regardless.  I have learned with them and from them.  All of us have done our best and when you stop to consider it, what else could we ask of each other?

My life as a teacher has been richly blessed.
38 years.
Seems like yesterday.

It's the "teacher" in me that is putting in a plug for one of the best books that I have ever read.  If you haven't heard of this young man's story, be sure to check it out.  It's well worth your time and also makes you have a greater appreciation for both of your arms!