Five days

Well, here we are, ten days after my last post, five days till the calendar reads "Graduation". The date has been marked on my calendar all year. I'd have my room all packed up pretty much by the time the kids left around 1:30, I'd rush to get the end-of-year paperwork completed in their CUM folders, and I'd make a mad dash for the door in order to quick change and run to my son's high school graduation at 5:00. I'd meet my parents and other family members there, and I'd proudly take a zillion pictures while beaming with pride. Then we'd all go out to eat as a big family and celebrate this huge milestone in my son's life.

That was the plan, anyway. I was supposed to be counting down the days as I write this.

But God chose David's class to experience things a bit differently. He had other plans.

Instead of cleaning and clearing out my classroom a little bit each day all month, I went in to the building for one day this week and cleaned out each students' desk on my own. The calendar still read March, the last date they'd ever write on the calendar area for me this year. I passed out all the papers we hadn't read, tossed the worksheets we didn't do, and bagged up all workbooks and supplies we barely even used. I said a prayer for each student as I piled all their belongings together before putting it all in a bag with their name on it. I huffed and puffed for six hours straight in silence, trying to get it all done before my time ran out. So many memories flashed across my mind of the year we had together. I took a video of the room with the kids' supplies all bagged on their desks and sent it to my kids, ending the video on the pictures we had on the door, pictures of them as four year olds in Pre-K and pictures of them again this year. I thanked them for being such a great class and told them again how much I loved them.

Then I turned the lights out, closed the door, and walked sadly to my car. I held it together until the drive home, and then the tears flowed. Such a surreal way to end a year with a group of kids you've loved so dearly. So much community in that room, community that won't be able to happen again for quite a while, even when we do go back to school. Limits to physical proximity will limit so many ways our kids are used to interacting and learning together. No one can even begin to predict what school will be like in the fall. It just won't be at all the same as we've been accustomed to, that we do know.

These last five days will hold a virtual Award Ceremony, a virtual Memory Book experience, some virtual reflecting, more virtual meetings, and still a bunch of digital paperwork.

And on our home calendar, it still says Graduation, and we'll definitely celebrate in our own way.

District plans are ever-changing, but at the moment there's a plan for an outdoor graduation ceremony with fireworks at one of the local football fields with a very limited attendance (each student and two guests). It will be a much more intimate experience than a large graduation and will be livestreamed for family and friends, and it's now moved to June 8th at 8:00 pm. They're still asking for feedback, so it could even change again. David was originally scheduled to be at Dallas Baptist University for orientation that very evening (the ONE thing on his calendar this summer that has NOT been cancelled), but he was able to switch it to the 11th.

So, that's where we stand, five days before the end of the school year.

But, as Beth Moore stated last night in a Living Proof Live event, we were chosen to be part of this experience precisely at this point in our lives. The class of 2020 was chosen for this time, and it can only be a preparation for what's to come.

 The parade of teachers at the high school, cheering on their seniors as they came to pick up their caps and gowns. 

Five days left of high school 

(though he's technically already done)