John
Thomas Elementary. Thomas. This school, where we spend most of our
waking hours, is a magical place that defies description. If you
haven't been a part of it, you absolutely won't believe it is true. But,
it is. We all know it like we know our own name.
It's just
an old building, you might say. It's been cobbled together over the
years, like a crazy quilt your grandma made. It's not beautiful, not fancy, not
noteworthy. The teachers are just normal people, teachers like a million
others around the country. The kids are just kids. You'll find them
on every street all over the world. They laugh and play and cry and learn
just like all the other kids. What's the big deal, you might ask.
What makes Thomas so special?
I guess
to really understand the answer, you have to have been here. You have to
have lived a chunk of your life inside its welcoming halls. You have to have been
greeted each morning with a hug and been loved by its smiling teachers.
You have to have been part of this place-turned-family to really know
what is ending.
If you
have been here, you know that this old building is really a magical place.
I don't have to tell you, you already know that the people here are
special. Maybe not especially different in their own right, but special
because we have been blessed to be a part of something bigger. We have
been part of this family called Thomas. We all arrived, raggedy and
self-contained, and have been absorbed into this otherness. Maybe it's
something about the walls, the smell of the halls, the sheer number of years
that children have spent learning and laughing here. Maybe it's the
commitment to each student that all the adults share, parents and teachers
alike.
Maybe
there really is no explaining it.
Maybe it's
magic. Maybe the final gift that John Thomas Elementary gives us is
simply this. We have been here. We have been a part of this family.
We have laughed and learned and played within these walls. And no
matter what changes lie ahead, that will always be with us.
18 comments:
Oh, that is so sad. I do so hate goodbyes . . . yes, they must be, so we might have the chance to say hello. But still . . .
I'll be thinking of you all especially today!
xoxo
I remember my last day of teaching, sadness yes, but joy too for a new era of my life was beginning. Best wishes for what comes next.
Such bittersweetness... Wishing you peace of heart and mind and you remember and look ahead, Relyn. :o) We're heading to the USA on Monday to visit my family for some days. Online time will be limited, but I hope to be around.((HUGS))
We all arrived, raggedy and self-contained, and have been absorbed into this otherness.
Your words describe this situation perfectly. I know the bittersweetness of closing doors behind you for the last time. There is such a sense of relief + despair that processing your feelings can be almost impossible in the moment. Yet you've done a marvelous job here.
Ever onward, eh?
I know by the way you described it that magic of life happened there..of teaching and learning. And you were a big part of that...but you Relyn will take the magic ...your magic with you..wherever you go...for magic must be spread...the magic of love and caring and dedication
All will be well......
I dread saying good bye so I find that it's easier to say, "See you later!" I'm hoping that your heart heals from letting go of something precious.
what a slice of heaven
you've enjoyed
and helped create.
it's inside of you,
that DNA, and you'll carry
it into chaos
and life-building beauty
will hover over it there too
and light will "be"
where there was only shadow before.
you're a light-bearer,
friend.
It will become sweet
wherever you're planted:)
I wish you comfort and peace,
Jen
It is sad to say goodbye when you have such dear memories of this special place. Take care and savor the hugs!
Are you changing jobs or is the school closing? Whichever, I understand that change is often hard and sad. I hope the future is equally as cheery as the memories from the past.
Big hugs and much love to you.
You will always bloom where you are planted my friend.
Much love
Jeanne
What a terribly difficult time this must be for you, Relyn. Your words are beautiful. Your memories all the more so.
I am so sorry about your school. My school is very similar to Thomas, except the kids are bigger (middle school). We're a family dedicated to the students we teach.
I'm hoping that you and the students adjust easily next year and that you'll find the magic and the hugs wherever you are.
I know it must have been a difficult moment for you and your students. Ido hope they find teachers as wonderful as you. Take care.
Live the sadness, Relyn...there is meaning in it. Don't cheat yourself of feeling the everything of loss and goodbyes.
What a beautiflul post. I taught for 30 years, not in one place, but it captures a part of your heartthat anyone who has not had the incredible blessing of teaching precious children can understand.
What a hard thing! I know I can't feel all of what you feel, but I can feel a good bit of your sadness through your words. Sending love.
Awww...sounds like an amazing school, Relyn. You know, though, places like that have a way of staying in our memory throughout our lives. I'm glad you were able to spend so many years working in such a positive environment. No doubt the students you've had over the last eleven years will remember Mrs.Lawson forever. I hope that the next school you teach at will be as wonderful a place as John Thomas Elementary. Your new students are in for a treat this September.
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