A Whole Lot of History

This has been the longest of months— 31 days felt like 62. The Giant Lion Turtle knowing how desperately I want summer to begin has no doubt been secretly rewinding the days as I slept. What else could explain this endless May. I fully expect to wake tomorrow to discover that it is still May 31. I’ve talked about this school year as though it’s been endless. It is. I’ve talked about how ready I am for the lazy days of porch swings and late nights. I am. Even so, there is one part of me that wants the Giant Lion Turtle to keep rolling back the days. I want just a few more days, a few more weeks, a few more years with this group of 8th graders. For me, watching them move on to high school is certainly filled with joy because I know the adventures that await them over the next four years and the four after that and the years after that, but part of me profoundly feels the end of an era. I’ve been with them since they were 6th graders who couldn’t open their lockers. I’ve been with them since they were 7th graders who couldn’t control the impulses brought about by surging hormones. I’ve watched them as emboldened 8th graders who believe they can make better the broken world we’re bequeathing them. They will. This is something I know to be true. For three years, they’ve been my reason. I miss them already, and I’ve managed to make myself cry.