The day finally came to say goodbye to my home away from home. I expected more emotion, but I felt completely at peace all day---at least so far. I'm sure it'll hit once I have a chance to sit and reflect. Everything's moved way too fast all week for me to really take it all in.
Almost nineteen years ago, in August of 2003, David and I got on a plane together and flew from Indiana to Texas for me to start a job that I'd been offered over the phone just two weeks prior. A job I didn't look for (my sister-in-law, Ang, found it for me and "convinced" them to interview me), had no certification for yet, one that I interviewed for over three phone interviews over a period of three days. A job I didn't even know existed even a day before that first interview. Mike followed behind us two weeks later with his dad and a small moving truck.
A total God move.
Little did I know I'd stay at that same elementary school for 19 straight years.
I got hired in as a CSR teacher (Classroom Size Reduction), a job created by a grant to help the bilingual teachers focus on a smaller group of students at a time. I worked mornings at another school a mile away, and then I spent the afternoons in Room 16 at Bullock Elementary by pulling small groups of bilingual students from all grade levels. I worked during the day and then went to school at night at an Alternative Certification program. Because I was in a high-need bilingual position, the school paid for my certification. I really couldn't have asked for more.
That year, I found myself really enjoying the fourth graders and was so surprised when the principal at Bullock offered me the fourth grade bilingual position for the following year! So the last day of school, I moved my very few personal belongings outside to a portable classroom to prepare for the following school year. I stayed outside in that portable for three years teaching fourth grade with two great teammates, Rikki and Stacy.
After three years, I wanted to teach more Spanish, so my principal offered to move me to second grade where the students required more instruction in Spanish. I moved my growing collection of personal items inside the building to room 24, where I stayed for the following six years. I had several different teammates over those six years, starting with Amy and Mary, then Rikki, then Maria, and then Lirys. By then, they'd added a second bilingual class to each grade level.
My sixth year in second grade, I also spent a great deal of time working on Juan's second adoption process. We left for Colombia the very day after school got out, and while I was in Colombia, my principal decided to play an "upset-the-fruit-basket-game" and moved a whole bunch of teachers to new grade levels. I came home to find out I'd been moved to the Pre-K position. With a lot of tears, I packed up my things in room 24, gathered my personal belongings, and moved down the hall to Room 39. I had NO idea how to go about teaching early childhood, but God blessed me with an incredible teacher aid, Patty, to help me through that drastic change. We bonded so well and worked very closely together for the next five years. I had a very faithful teammate, too, in Victoria for all five years.
Toward the end of the fifth year, my heart began to long for students a little older. I wanted to be able to teach writing again more than anything. My principal said the only position he had open was kindergarten, but just a few days before school ended, he had a second grade position open up, directly across the hall from my Pre-K classroom. So the last day of school, I gathered my personal belongings and pushed them across the hall to Room 35, where I stayed for the last four years. I worked with Victor, Kalilah, and Diane, then with Hannah and Kenny, and then with DJ. Every year brought at least one new teammate. When I started this year, I had no idea it would be my last. in room 35 and at Bullock Elementary.
But today I turned in my laptop, my computer bag,
my badge, and my keys.
I loaded down my car with the rest of my personal belongings that I hadn't already taken home over the last MONTH.
I never imagined I'd head back to Indiana, but I shouldn't be surprised since that's where all of Mike's family lives. He really needs his family right now, and his family really needs him.
I also never could have imagined God leading me to such a unique place as
New Song Mission. I have kept a picture on my phone of the physical landscape where New Song Leadership Academy sits, and whenever I've gotten anxious about all of this unexpected change, that picture has brought me peace.
Now the next month I'll be torn between my hope and excitement for how God is going to use me at New Song, for how I will have a chance to grow closer to the Alspaugh side of the family, and for a different pace of life---and my sadness over all the people and places we're leaving behind.
So. Much. Change.
I wrote this poem to share at my writer's group a few days ago.
Changing sesasons
Our season is changing,
My kids are now all grown.
One resides at his college,
One seeks a place of his own.
Yet rather than watching
Them launch from our nest,
We, too, are embarking
On our own brand new quest.
A quest for our calling
Our next mission in life
To rekindle our dreams
As a husband and wife.
To work in our element
And spread Jesus love
A prime opportunity
Sent straight from above.
A chance to step back
To reevaluate our goals
To help more with family
And reverse income roles.
Yet knowing God beckons us
To make a new start,
To close up a chapter
Still feels so hard.
The people, the places
We’re so accustomed to see
The deeper the friendships
The harder goodbye will be.
Leaving my family behind
To soon be closer to his
Living far from our sons
How bittersweet this is
Yet somehow I know
This is all in His plan
So I pack up my things
cherish each moment I can.
Looking forward with peace
Anticipating great things
While still feeling the sadness
That a change of season brings.
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