Well, I'm already terrible at keeping up with this thing, but I promise I will get better! The countdown has begun and I can't believe that in a month and a half I will be in Honduras!! People keep asking me if I am excited, scared, nervous, etc,. and I keep telling them that I really don't know what to feel because this doesn't seem real. However, the main emotion is excitement! Not that I'm ready to leave my friends and family, but I am excited to see what God has in store and to get going...I feel like I'm just sitting and waiting and I'm ready to go!
Okay, to the goodbye part...school ended on June 10th and I spent that day and the ones before saying goodbye to the people and life which had become "home" to me during the last 2 years. In response to me teaching middle school, and above that, middle school in urban Charlotte, people would say, "Why?", "Wow, I'll be sure to pray for you!", "You're crazy!", and so on. I remember feeling terrified about teaching at Albemarle Road Middle because I had heard nothing but terrible things - gang violence, low-performing school, bad behavior, no parent involvement. Here I was, small-town gal that had no real "diverse" experiences, and was taking the only opportunity that was given to me. You will hear me say this a lot, but God really knows what He is doing. For the past two years, my life cup has been continually overflowing with laughter and love. I told my students that I would pack each of them up and take them with me if I could. Needless to say, there were many tears on those last few days. What beautiful children God blessed me with! I sometimes think that teachers are looked down upon because of social status or whatever, but there will never be a better paycheck than the one of "thank you's", "love you's", hugs, and sweet memories that I have been blessed to receive. If you are someone who works with the kids of today, I encourage you to love them, even when they may not love you back. Sometimes we forget that they are kids and in the midst of their nasty attitudes, crazy antics, drama, and everything else, they need hope and love just like the rest of us.
