Nine short days off this summer...yep, that's all! Mostly at my choosing. Between working extended contract, Summer Camps, Workshops, and at ATU...my summer was short as always. It is still a little shocking that school is starting in less than two weeks. And it is more shocking that my daughter is starting Junior High sports and my baby boy is starting his last year of elementary.
Year 17 of my "profession" is even crazier...I am still so young! ;-)
It feels like yesterday that my Mom was making zucchini bread for my kindergarten students to taste during the letter Z week. Or my Dad and Grandma being my faithful cake and punch servers every year after Kindergarten graduation. Or getting caught in the bathroom while working on the weekend....embarrassing!!! Or walking to the Knoxville post office for a tour during our unit on Community Helpers. Or Easter egg hunts, tie dye shirts, and tons of bus duties until 4:15. It feels like only yesterday that I was falling from the top of a desk to the floor in front of a classroom full of 4th graders. True Story! (I was trying to hang my overhead screen.) They didn't laugh that day, but they like to tease me today about it. Or my 4th grade days with Eddie, MaKayla, Jamie, Max, Kirk, and soooo many more! Or our school-wide units about the Rainforest and Children Around the World. Starting my classroom library and two student teachers in one year...it was only yesterday...
It feels like yesterday that I walked into the hallway of the high school for the first time...not as a student, as the new Library-Media Specialist thinking, What had I done?? I loved teaching 4th grade. It feels like yesterday that was I called a Bi**h to my face, by a HS student. Or Alex MAKING me read Twilight. Or the "fake fight" in the library and the "fake" police report after that. Or ALL the Student Council floats and Homecomings, painting the bridge, and soooooo many more Stu Co activities. Or the pep rallies, painting the library walls GREEN and the heck that came with that, or all the classes I have sponsored over the years. Or all the dances I have chaperoned, leaving with a huge headache because the music was so loud. Or the introduction of AR into the high school....it feels like yesterday!
It seems like yesterday that I realized I have found my calling and luckily still doing what I love (on most days). And YES, I get tired and burned out by the end of the school year. But, I am thankful that starting number 17, I still try to find the latest and greatest for my students, teachers, and myself. And mostly that I am a "life-long learner" (Thank you, Nat. Board) and not stuck in the past and that I WANT to continue to learn more and more....
It seems like yesterday that I realized my life-long love of reading and technology are my calling....it's seems like yesterday that I finally listened to the advice that my wise Grandpa gave me back in the early 1990's...."the Library is the place you need to be!" I often wonder if he is looking down, saying I TOLD YOU SO! And just when I started missing the classroom, my ATU opportunity came up....I am so very blessed. I hope your journey down your professional road has been as adventurous as mine!
Have a great school year!!
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