Friends Forever

This is always the most difficult post I have to write all year and I am unable to postpone it any longer. At the beginning of the week I talked with Team Awesome about all the 'big feels' my heart was going to experience this week- sadness at Kindergarten with Team Awesome coming to an end, excitement at the adventures the summer was going to bring and anxiety about the new school year in September to name a few. And most of them nodded and admitted that they were having some of the same feelings. I reassured them that I wasn't going anywhere. They could come and visit me at the end of the hall any time they felt the need next year or the year after or even after that. And I told them they were going to love their new teacher so much that they would soon forget about me and that was ok. That's the way things are supposed to work. Many of them disagreed with the latter statement and required extra hugs and reassurances throughout the week. But we made it through and nobody cried- including me (much). And so now Team Awesome is ready, whether they know it or not. Ready to move on and continue their educational journey. They will enjoy all the activities summer holidays bring, grow exponentially in so many ways, and come back in the fall over-the-top excited to jump into grade one. Few of them will need any reassurances from me because they will already have moved on and opened their hearts to everything to come. Because that's the way things are supposed to work.
And once again, I would like to thank you, Parents, for all you have done to help me make the first year of schooling a successful one for Team Awesome. They are a great group of children whose hearts are large and that doesn't just happen on its own. That is a direct result of all the love and care given to them by you. Thank you.
I look forward to seeing you all in the fall and while the children aren't in my class any longer, please visit me at the end of the hall!