Bittersweet

A Time for All Events in Life

 For everything there is an appointed time,

and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:

 A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;

 A time to =&*#, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

 A time to rip, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

 A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.  

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Last week was bittersweet to say the least.  For the past 25 years I have either been a student or a classroom teacher, and sometimes both.  I love learning, and I love teaching.  But for many reasons, I decided that this is my last year to teach. I plan to retire from the profession that I love and pursue other interests. I will be saying goodbye to my last group of students in May. Bittersweet.

Next fall when the students return to school, I will be harvesting my garden, serving my God and my community, enjoying time with my family, and I may even find time to dabble in a little writing. Teaching is still my passion, and always will be, but I have chosen to teach outside of the bounds of a 20'x30' room. There is a big world out there just waiting for me.

Bittersweet...My oldest grandson K, will be in middle school and my other grandson G, will be in 4th grade next year.  In a blink of an eye!  What happened to the past 10+ years?

Sweet...Another grandson N, joined me for lunch in my classroom. While his mom and I were finishing our lunch, he sat on the floor and started creating shapes with the classroom pattern blocks.  He said, "Look Nana, this is a trapezoid!"  Oh, by the way did I tell you, he is only 4! Another teacher walked into my classroom and I introduced him to my grandson.  N said, "Look Mr. M this is a trapezoid!" Mr. M appeared surprised, and then suggested that N not be put in his classroom in the future as the student will probably be smarter than the teacher.

Another Sweet...I heard what sounded like a hammering on the side of my house.  I went outside to see if a woodpecker was near the vent hole that needed repairing. (I had previously asked my husband to cover the  hole because I was concerned about the possibility of little critters finding their way into our attic.)  Well, as I peeked around the corner of the house, a flicker was peeking her head out of the hole and looking right at me.  She had found a BIG birdhouse!
The flicker flew out of the hole when I clapped my hands.
When my husband returned home from a business trip, he checked out the attic.  And yes, she was starting to build a nest. So sorry. Because now she must find a new home. Bittersweet.

Not Sweet...Love the rain, but there is a leak in my roof...the carpet is wet! (At this time, the leak has been fixed. I hope.)

Bitter...What happened to school assemblies when the performances were designed to teach "the moral of the story...?"  On Friday, a well known group of actors performed in front of 1st - 5th grade students at my school.  To summarize, the group performed a semi-comedy routine about 3 classics written by H. G. Wells.  I'm not sure when The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine became material for primary school children.  I won't go into details, but the material was written for an adult audience. We are required to get parents' permission to show PG movies in school.  This performance was beyond PG.  Puzzling at best...angry at worst!

Movie recommendation:  The Time Changer
                        The world is "a-change'n...." 
God Bless,
Lin