Summer break is drawing to a close and there are big changes on the horizon for my family. I’ll get back to that.
I have had such a fantastic summer that’s also been a bit of a roller coaster. This year, I decided not to return to my summer job that I’ve had for 7 years. I loved the job and it provided me with extra “summer fun” money but it also required a lot of time away from my family and a lot of time spent with kids, some of who were also my students at school. After 12 years of teaching and 7 years of this summer job, I decided I wanted (needed) a break from everything and took the summer to spend how I wanted. My daughter and I went on several trips, we did a big family vacay, and I got lots accomplished around the house that I had been avoiding.
We went to Beaufort, NC for a long weekend to explore the sights and the food of the coast. It was beautiful and I can’t wait to go back!
Then we spent a week driving to art camp and exploring a cool city! Art camp at the Greenhill Center was great and she enjoyed her time there – I enjoyed a new coffee shop each day!
Our family vacation was so much fun and I loved spending time with my sister and her babies and my mom and dad all under one roof.
We also went to see The Little Mermaid live and it was awesome! I would have stayed for another showing right then.
For the first time, I feel like we were able to really make the most of every day of summer break!
Now, getting back to that whole, a change is gonna come thing…
My husband has been working for a company an hour and a half away from home for a year and a half. He loves his job so much and it really shines through in the other parts of his life. We had discussed moving closer but it was not in the immediate plans. But we all know how the best laid plans go. An opportunity was placed in my lap that I could not pass up. An art teaching job at one of the best schools in the state! And it just happens to be in the city he works. It was still a difficult decision and one not made lightly. I have chosen to leave my current school system and my family and I are moving and embarking on this new adventure together. We are excited but also very sad to leave such a great life of having amazing friends and family so close by. Luckily it’s still only an hour away so we will get to visit and hopefully we will get to share our new city with them.
I think about my students I’m leaving behind and I get so anxious about their future. I hope my quiet, shy students who tear up at a strong “teacher look” continue to gain confidence in themselves with the help of compassionate teaching. I think about the babies who I snuck pencils and crayons and markers and paper to and pray they will continue to get supplies that help them create outside the classroom. I think about the kids that search me out in a crowd for a hug or a high five and they will think I left them without a backwards glance. But then I remember that I work(ed) at the best school ever with the most caring teachers ever and they will get the hugs they want and the supplies they need and the gentle looks and the guiding hand. It’s so hard to say goodbye when you’re leaving something you loved.
In the words of Sam Cooke:
“There have been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will…”
Cheers to a new year, new students, new adventures, and an old love for all things ART.
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