Whew…
Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.
I am so incredibly proud of my students…the ones I have this year, and the ones I have taught in past years. As they wrap up this ridiculous semester, they are exhausted but effective.
I am also amazed and dazzled by my colleagues. I have watched them trudge into the buildings (they used to dance), work their magic, and ooze home. This has been an soul-sucking semester, but these men and women have stepped up and out of the Known and into the Chaos of Creativity. They are working so hard and rising to, even exceeding expectations. There is no gold star for them, just the satisfaction of knowing that all has been left on the classroom floor. It is time for them to go out to wherever they came from and rest. Most of them will work, too…because this teaching thing is a never-ending story. There are papers to grade, plans to make, students to check in on…It is such an honor to be in the trenches with these SuperPeople.
This Vocation of ours is demanding, but also rewarding. It is a taffy-pull for all of us…we have to meet certain requirements for our subjects, but must also be mindful of the actual mental and physical needs of the kids… I know that we are working hard because these minds and these children will be ruling the world someday, sooner, rather than later. It is a little terrifying, especially since my fingerprints are on these masterpieces…or perhaps, better said would be,...my hands, God’s fingerprints. I love my students powerfully, and I want them to be the best version of themselves possible. So much of what I would have given to the students in class has been stripped away because of the venue and the time constraints. I am hopeful that I will get to meet this group of kids in person and resurrect some of the things that I normally use to prepare the kids for things. Right now, my priority is making sure their heads don’t explode. It makes such a mess when that happens.
Today I will go home, take a walk with Luna, a bath without her, and lift a glass of Wassail to the end of a hard-won semester.
Cheers to the Team!
