Schooool's Out For Summer!

Well.  Kinda.  It is for the kids, anyhow.  I, however, still have to go to work today... but then I'm done for a couple of weeks.

What a bittersweet day it was for me, yesterday.  I cried much more than I thought I would.  The tears started when I had to get up in front of the entire school and hand out my Terrific Tiger award.  Before the first word came out of my mouth, I choked up.  I spluttered my way through a quick story about it being a year since I was offered my job, and that since that time how welcome I'd felt.  I boo-hooed my way through telling my class how much I loved them and appreciated their hard work throughout the year.  I sniffed and sniveled through a thank-you and good luck to the graduating 8th graders that, despite not actually teaching them, I had still gotten to know and love.  EMOTIONAL!

Once the awards ceremony was over, I was able to calm down...until I attended the 8th grade recognition ceremony yesterday afternoon.  I sniffed and sniveled my way through that thing as well.  If I was that emotional with a class of kids I barely know, what on earth is going to happen next year when it's my daughter up there getting recognized and all of her friends that I've gotten to know and love?

The end of day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I teared up when our school song was being played during dismissal, and when each child walked through the door and gave me a hug.  Of course, they thought it was hilarious to see me cry so much.  I'm not a crier, and they've gone all year without so much as a wet eye from me... so to see me cry so much in one day was quite the experience.  One they couldn't stop laughing at.  Oh, how I will miss those little, sweet faces.

Today, I have to attend an end of the year breakfast with the entire school district and then it's back to my classroom to officially lock it up for the summer.  Just as I thought I would, I'm regretting not having more done by now than what is done.  It will take me a good couple of hours to get everything the way it needs to be before I can drive out of the parking lot.  I'm not too worried, though.  I'll throw on some Pandora, shut my door, and organize my way through the bulk of it in no time.  I hope.

I have a lot of paper sorting and organizing that needs to be done, but I'm not doing it today.  I figure that after several weeks off of work, I'll have more desire to sit and sort through paperwork...so I'm waiting until a few weeks before school starts back up to do that.  Until then, it can sit and collect dust or I'll lock it away in my filing cabinet.

I only, actually, get a couple of weeks off before I have to go back to work for two weeks.  I'm teaching the second session of summer school.  It may not be in my own classroom, it won't be with my own written lesson plans, it will be a totally new experience for me.  I'm sure it will be lots of fun, though, and the money is really good.  I'm happy that I'll get a couple of weeks off before I have to do it, though.  I should feel more rested and moved in by then.

The one thing I'm looking forward to is not having to get up at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow morning.  I'm warning every person in this house before I go to bed tonight that I better not get woken up in the morning.  I want to start the tradition that the first day of summer, I get to sleep in as late as I want.  Sure, I can always do that on the weekends - but do you know how often it actually happens on the weekends?  Not often at all.  I'm going to stay up late tonight, watch some TV, and then sleep until I am good and ready to get up in the morning... or afternoon.  HA!

Alright, it's time for me to go and get ready...for the last time this school year.