The Finish Line

My mom has officially gone home for the day. Today is the last day of the Fall Semester. Technically it was yesterday as the students' last day was yesterday and today was just a turn your grades in day. But this week my mom gave her last 1st semester exams of her career. She entered her last Fall Semester grades into the computer. She took down her last classroom Christmas tree. She cleaned out her Holiday files. She showed her last classroom viewing of Prancer. There are a lot of lasts this year as she's retiring in May after 41 years in the school system and 40 years of teaching.

I don't think it has hit her quite, yet. But I did ask her yesterday if she realized those were her last 1st semester exams. She said she had but just left it at that. It's kind of bittersweet for her I think because she absolutely loves her job, but 41 years is a long time. She's been teaching longer than she's been doing anything else in her entire life besides breathing and being alive. It was only a year ago that she surpassed being a mom for longer than she hadn't been a mom. There are few people in the school system who truly know what the impact will be once next year rolls around, but thankfully it's the people that need to know that impact. I think she's tried to treat this year as just another year and I think it's worked for the most part.

What she'll do come May, I have no clue, but until then the students of Charlotte County can still enjoy being taught by someone who has their best interest at heart. Who knows what she's doing and who really and simply wants them to learn and be better students when they leave her class. And as far as the Fall Semester is concerned, her work here is done. Happy Christmas Break!