It Is Finished.

Yesterday was the last day of work for me. The school year has officially ended.

The kids were all gone on Wednesday. Below is a picture of them in their 'Great American' costumes. They had to give an oral presentation in character of their chosen Great American.

 My classroom was cleaned out and cleared out for the upcoming summer activities.

I thought this long term sub position would be a piece of cake. It was a grade that I was thoroughly familiar with. It was at the end of the school year which meant all the important stuff should have been taught and I would be just 'coasting to the finish line'. There were only 16 students which was almost half the amount I taught last time. And the teacher I was replacing put together a detailed list of what needed to be still taught; a comprehensive description of all her students and their parents; and trained me on everything I needed to know. She was incredible. I could not ask for a better teacher to replace. And she left me nothing to correct or complete. I started fresh and new!

But looks can be deceiving...

This year was probably the toughest seven weeks I ever had in all my years of teaching. A combination of difficult students and difficult parents just drained me to the core. But important lessons were learned. Remember I always say... everything can be a teachable moment... even for me.

It taught me that I could not rely solely on myself to do a good job. That was impossible this time around. I could not control people. God had to intervene and teach me to depend on Him. I was humbly reminded to pray for me and my students on a daily basis. When I did, the tide turned and it got much better but it took me three weeks to learn this.

Three weeks in and I wanted to quit. And I am NOT a quitter. I humbly learned that in everything I do I can not do it well without God's help. Even if the students do not change, my attitude and the way I see things can. And it did and I got through the seven weeks.

I also learned that I cannot work full-time... at least not for the next few years. I was unable to balance family, work and ministry. The work just sucked the life out of me. This time around it wasn't the amount of work that was a lot... it was the emotional toll and stress instead. I was not a very happy person when I was working full-time. And I am sure my husband and children were none too happy either. But they were extremely supportive and that got me through the weeks. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

And that is called... Hawaii!! Can't wait to blog about it!! Aloha!!