REtirement

It is official....I REtired from teaching Religion Ed.  Last night was my official last night as an RE teacher.  I expected to be a little sad about it, but honesty, all I feel is relief at this point in time.  I had a good run....somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 years.  I have no idea how many kids I taught.  I have no idea how many lessons I conjured up at the last minute.  I have no idea how many of the kids I taught are even still practicing their faith.  I do know that I enjoyed teaching, I have loved being around the kids, and I appreciate all of the people who I taught alongside, and those who have selflessly given of their time to teach my children.  Since it is unlikely that I will ever actually retire from working (because let's face it, I have seen my retirement statements), I am living this one up!  :)  

We had a little picnic in the park for the kids, and I did a ridiculously bad job of taking pictures.  Saige got an award for good attendance.  The woman in the above photo, whose face you cannot see, the one handing Saige her "prize" is Monica.  She is the DRE for the Scranton and Osage City churches.  I will never be able to say enough good stuff about her.  She is a true example of love, patience and desire for people to know the goodness of faith.  We are so lucky to know her!  She literally taught Saige for 4 years, and Saige absolutely loves her.  I will be sad to not see her every week!  

Saige and Harper will now both go to Confirmation readiness class.  I think Mallory and I are going to tackle this project together.  I am feeling excitement at the idea of having all my children done with their sacraments....at least the ones that were my responsibility as a parent to see them through!  It might be a premature excitement, but I am feeling good about it anyway.  

It is good that we are finishing some things, as when I got to my car after the picnic, I realized that I had about 400 missed text messages.   Switching gears in to ball practices, upcoming ending the school year events, band year-end dinners, and a few other things that mean my focus is about to change to all things summer.