I'm Going to Miss Them!

I have waited for this time for sooo long...the end of the school year, that is. I have had a countdown going for so long, I can't even remember when I started it. The excitement that summer is a mere WEEK away is almost more than I can handle.

However, today was track and field day, and the kids were all just extra happy and excited to be together and to have a whole day off from doing schoolwork. I realized something while going through the line of kids asking me to sign the back of their Field Day shirts (this is a big tradition): I'm going to miss them! ALL of them!

Somehow during all of my recess duties and lunch duties, my days subbing and my daily walks through the halls, I have really gotten to know almost all of these kids! I could almost name every single one of the students in kindergarten through sixth grade at my school (I think I may even know more of their names than the principal does! Although, I know the secretary has me beat. She knows them allll).

I'll miss the clingy fourth grade girl who would not leave my side all year during recess duty in the mornings.

I'll miss the kindergarten boy who always asked to go to the restroom during lunch even though his teacher had just given the entire class a restroom break. I will not forget his cute, ornery smile during the summer months.

I'll miss my morning hugs from the second grade girls who always seem to catch me right as I walk to my classroom in the morning.

I'll miss the sign language lessons that I would randomly get from the deaf sixth grade boy who was in my math class.

I'll miss another sixth grade boy in my math class who was usually grumpy, but on a good day, would break out in random song and it would allllways make me laugh, no matter how bad of a mood I had been in before.

I'll miss the entire first grade class that was always way too talkative during lunch time. Mostly because they call me "Mrs. Walrus."

And even though the three fifth grade girls I had for reading almost drove me to the point of banging my head against the wall with their cattiness, gossip, and flippant attitude, I will miss them. I will miss their smiles and their cute little trendy outfits, their talk of Justin Bieber and iCarly. I'll even miss them breaking into Emily Osment's "Once Upon a Dream" every five minutes or so, no matter how many times I told them to stop singing and get to work.

I'll really, really miss the little sixth grade girl from my math class. The one who I've somehow ended up working with every school day for the past three years. Her sweet attitude and strong work ethic, even despite all of her learning disabilities, have made such a great impression on me. I will REALLY miss her next year as she will be at the jr. high :-(

I will miss my lunches in the teacher's lounge, just catching up, comparing lunches, discussing last night's episode of The Bachelor, finding out that somebody's pregnant (which seems to happen all the time! :-P), or even just venting.

And I will miss so many more people and things.

So anyway, I might shed a tear or two next Friday. I cried on my way home last year on the last day! I'm such a nerd :-P But as soon as I get home, I will switch right to summer mode. And I probably won't give too many thoughts to the afore mentioned people or activities for the next three months;-)

Happy Friday!