New Beginnings...

Today marks the end of my tenth year in the classroom.

A decade.

On the front bulletin board there are class pictures from the last ten years. A chronicle of the aging process in plain view for all to see. In two of the photographs I am pregnant with my daughters. In one, my long red hair reaches far below the eye of the camera. In one I have my father's last name and in nine I have his. Crows feet increase. Weight is gained and lost. In all there are nearly thirty students surrounding me. The oldest are now twenty-two.

There is one box left beside my desk, filled with odds and ends. Summertime looms and I can feel this incredibly satisfying sense of closure to this particular school year. A decade I have taught. That's something. But more than that, it's what I see in the distance that excites and energizes me.

I daresay I've grown up. Not in the "I'll never laugh like a kid again kind of way", but in the "I'm in charge of my of life kind of way."

Being a mom and watching my daughters grow...
Being a girlfriend and building a life with Boy...
Being a daughter and understanding what that means from a mother's point of view...
Being a teacher and seeing the kids for what they are going to be, not necessarily what they are right now...

So many things to look forward to...

Momentarily I will turn the lights out on the last ten years of my life, and use the light within me as the next decade's guide...