Well...I should have known. Although the thought of endless summer days is always appealing, every single year I find myself sad for the school year to end! (Now teacher friends, don't get me wrong. I am READY for summer vacation. There are children with whom I need to part ways. I am "over it" with paperwork.) However, I am always sad to leave my "children." We become a family. I spend more waking hours with them some days than their own parents. And in just a few weeks, they will no longer be "mine." Oh my first years of teaching were flooded with tears over the little lives that I had been privileged to teach. I am now much more ready for that magic date in June, yet I still feel the now familiar pinch in my heart when the time approaches for me to say goodbye.
All of this I know. It has become as much as a part of my teaching as planning for each holiday. But today I was caught off guard when we had to say goodbye to Tyson's first ever school teacher. She has been so wonderful. Tyson says "thank you God" for her every night. He pretends to be her, saying "mommy get your mind on me." Parents were invited to spend the last few minutes of the day in the classroom. The children sang their songs and were presented with certificates. The proud faces were priceless. Soon it was time to gather our things, hug classmates, and bid farewell to Mrs. Dena. She cried... I cried. Sweet Mrs. Dena, we will forever have our "minds (and hearts) on you" as being such a treasured preschool teacher.
