Bye, Karl! {And other goodbyes that aren't as easy...}

Goodbyes are hard.

I try to avoid them at all costs. 

Some goodbyes are easy, however, and saying goodbye to COVID teaching is easy. Like, super easy. The amount of "pivots" we had to endure this year makes us superheroes. Every single one of us. And you better believe everything is crossed that teaching from here on out is mask-free and in my own classroom. Everything is crossed that I see my kids every day and that I never have to Zoom again. {Well, maybe Zoom staff meetings could remain--those weren't so bad...}

This brings me to another easy goodbye...Goodbye, Karl the Kart! I had to push Karl to a new classroom every hour. I had to load Karl with supplies, papers, books, my keyboard, USB, mouse, my laptop, phone, and any other items I might need. I forgot something almost every day. I had to take time to set stuff up in each classroom in an efficient way and it felt like nothing was efficient, ever. 

I am also saying goodbye to a 35-minute (one way) commute. In some ways, my commute has been a gift. I got in the habit of calling family and friends and catching up on the news. I listened to podcasts and Taylor Swift playlists. But after 8 years, 70 minutes every day has become a lot. Goodbye, long commute! {Especially snowy ones!}

{This t-shirt was made by one of my students! It's SO PERFECT!}

Sometimes I can't control when I have to say goodbye to something and that's tricky and a bit more difficult.

So. This is tricky.

I am a casualty of low enrollment and was displaced by my school, Deer Creek. After 8 years of teaching 8th-grade language arts, I have to say goodbye to a school I have invested so much of my heart and soul into and it has not been easy. I will establish a new home at The Manning School of Academics and Arts in Golden starting in August, but for now, I have to say goodbye to a place that has shaped me in so many important ways.

I am grateful for what Deer Creek has taught me about teaching and the ways that the amazing staff showed me how to honor my strengths and understand ways I can grow.  I have been grateful for the lifelong friends I have gained and the many, many, laughs and tears we have shared. I am grateful to my work wife for allowing me to be myself and for giving me hope on a regular basis. 

My various team members have been life-giving and I am a better person because of each of them. {Goats in trees, baby!} I am grateful for the endless support and grace extended to me through so many different people.  The memes, the donuts, the coffee, the happy hours, the inside jokes, {The candy won't crush itself!} the everyday miracles in the mundane that have made me a better person.

I'm saying goodbye to you, Deer Creek {and the BEST cohort in the school!!}, with a grateful heart. {Nevermind the bags under my eyes--they're the mascot of 2020-21...}

As I navigate these goodbyes--the easy and difficult ones, I know that this really weird school year taught me about persistence and resilience. I did more than I thought I could ever do under stressful circumstances. We all did. 

{I might miss the view from my room most of all!}

And as I continue to reflect on all things bitter and sweet about year 13 of teaching, I know that I do all of it for the kids. I am grateful for the wonderful ways they have taught me to Stay Gold--no matter what. 

I was lucky enough to have some of this Gold captured in notes from kids and it means so much to me. 

Cue the crying emoji.

Yup. These goodbyes are hard but I also know that there are lots of Stay Gold moments in my future and I welcome them with open arms.