The end

Today was the last day of school. Well at least for the kids. This finality is always one of my favorite parts of my job. In May ( or June) you are done. 100% finished. Grades are exported, pictures are taken off of shelves books are turned in. Everyone goes their own seperate way for at least a few months. When we do come back we will all be starting fresh. How many other times in life do we get to be completely finished and start new after a nice long break?

The end always manages to sneak up on me. Sure my beakers are washed and my filing cabinet partially cleaned out........but I mean with the kids. They sit there and I realize about 5 minutes before the bell that this is it. Sure I am ready to be rid of them, but still get a bit sappy. Our year together is over. Most of them will never sit in my desks again. They are young and bright and some will do amazing things. Some will do really stupid things. And some will do both. I want to say more. To do more. To give them all some kind of award.........well most of them. But the bell is about to ring. They are rowdy and I just mumble out some dumb have a nice summer, be safe kind of things.

They file out quickly. Some of them give hugs or gifts or remember to say thank you. But most just fall in line behind their friends. I head back to my computer to finish up their grades and hope that they all find their way back.