And....we're done!!!

The last day of school finally arrived...AMEN!!! I got to school in the morning, made sure everything was ready, finished up my last few award packets, and prepared myself for how everything would go. And the kids arrived, excited as ever! I have to admit, I was a little shocked that a few of them (Josiah, Brandon) didn't dress up a little more. I knew they were going to a pool party at Jackson's house later in the day, but this is GRADUATION!!! Wear something nicer than a white T-shirt and jogging shorts. Everything went really well. My readers did a fantastic job and they all (for the most part) behaved during mass. I was so proud of them standing up there with their little (blank) scrolls...However, I was sad for one of my students-Luke, whose mother missed the entire ceremony because she was getting her hair done (it was the only time they could get her in) and whose father was at home, but chose not to be there as well. Sad!!!

After church, the kids came back to the rooms to get their award packets, which contained their awards, diploma, and report card. I said goodbye to each of them and got photos taken with most of them. Me with 2 of my faves: Makaia and Gerrit (love you guys)!!!

One of the last people to say goodbye to me was DJ and his mom. She was all, "Oh, I would love to give you a hug. You've been such a godsend to our family." It was all I could do to keep quiet, grit my teeth, and give her a half-hearted hug. Then she took a photo of DJ and I, but I didn't ask her to take one with my camera. I know I won't ever forget him, but I'd like to try.

When the kids left, we had some time to kill before our staff party so I opened my gifts from the kids. I got a lot of really nice things-lots of gift cards, which I love. I think my families knew I had a stressful year, though, because I got 2 gift cards for day spas. I laughed before I got ready to go to Party #1 of the day: our staff party.

So before I tell you about the party, I would like to say that I was wrong. Sexy Man Bag DID come back to haunt me, even after his return. Barb and Cheryl actually photocopied him and pasted him on each of our award gift bags. And, my award was for the sexiest lunch bag. I received another Abercrombie bag (this time of a shirtless, headless man) and a silly photo of myself (really? I look at myself in the mirror daily and see how silly I look...do I really need a photo reminder of it?).

My awards: Award bag, picture, and new sexy man bag

The awards were fun, but slightly disappointing in that we really didn't keep a lot of "dirt" on each other this year. I guess we were too busy getting crabby at one another to pay attention to the little, funny things. After the staff party, I drove over to Jackson's house to make an appearance at the pool party.

When I got to the pool party, I could tell things weren't going the best. Jackson's mom was flying around, looking frazzled. "I have to find Aaron's mom's number. He got hurt." I asked her what happened and she informed me that DJ had pushed Aaron off the trampoline and that now Aaron was complaining of ear pain and was very tired. DJ had also been in 4 timeouts in the short time he was there. Wow! We were all worried Aaron may have had a concussion. I checked to see if I had the number, but I didn't so we did the next best thing...called a family friend. She called Aaron's mom, who quickly called us back. She sent her mom to pick Aaron up and later took him to the Dr. where they diagnosed him with a sprained jaw. Yikes!!! Meanwhile, DJ's mom had arrived after the incident occurred and rather than apologize to Jackson's parents for the trouble or apologize to Aaron, she started pointing her finger at DJ, "Oh my goodness, DJ, you need to learn how to behave in public! I can't take you anywhere...." On and on she went! And then, rather than leave the party, they stayed for another 30-45 minutes. GRRR! Aside from that, though, the pool party was a lot of fun! The kids seemed to really be enjoying themselves and after the kids left, us adults enjoyed ourselves by having a beer and sitting around, talking. Once the middle schoolers started their party (Jackson's parents also have an 8th grader), I headed for home.

Once I was home, I just crashed. After such a busy day/week/ month/school year, I was ready for some relaxation...I still have to clean my classroom, but summer is on the horizon!