Treasuring the Present: The End of the School Year

I love the month of May... I've posted on that before.  One reason I love the month of May because in many ways, it is like the month of December.

What do I mean by this?

When I'm asked what my favorite part of Christmas is... other than it is the birth of our Savior -- Immanuel, God With Us... my favorite part is December 1-26.  All of December is magical, full of hustle and bustle, Christmas parties... Christmas music, Christmas movies, Good Will, Christmas carols and greetings fall out of the mouths of many non-believers.  People cannot NOT celebrate in December.

That being said, this post is about the end of the school year.  May is a lot like December in that all of May leads up to the end of the school year... just like all of December leads up to Christmas.

May is a time of tying up loose ends -- tying up all ends, stepping back and seeing the growth and progress students have made over the past nine months, celebrations, special events, school assemblies, and excitement.

Only in May!

At the end of the school year and ONLY at the end of the school year could and would the following occur:

• Students -- many students -- some might argue EVERY student, and TEACHER wakes up excited to go to school day after day after day (usually for the last 3-5 days of school)
• My husband takes 2 liters of soda pop to school
• Students are rewarded for meeting goals they have been working toward for the past 9 months (hence the soda pop)
• Teachers can pull off field trips that are only possible in the last two weeks of school
• Students express appreciation to in a different way, perhaps more sincere way, than they do the rest of the year
• I send my hubby to school with 8 dozen homemade cookies
• Teachers meet for lunch, happy hour, breakfast and enjoy each other as colleagues more often in the last two weeks of school than they do from September-April combined

The end of the school year is the last mile of a marathon... well, I've never run a marathon, so I should stick to comparisons I know are true.

The end of the school year is the last mile of a half-marathon.  It is the last ski run of the day.  It is the last lap in the pool. Its the last refrain of a song.  Its the last twirl and dip of a dance.  It is the final sprint to the end zone of an exhausting, exciting football game.

At the end of the year, teachers (and many students) are exhausted and busy, but totally motivated and determined to finish the race.

I love the end of the school year.

Here are some pictures I took last week on a vision field trip where four kiddos with visual impairments from four school districts met for the first time and did a ropes course at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center.  A colleague of mine arranged the whole thing and we were able to bring four of our students of similar age and vision ability.  We had a BLAST.  Only near the end of the school year could this fun have occurred:

Practicing for the high ropes course

We're pretty high!

Can you imagine doing this without your sight?

We're getting ready to do the zip line...

Here we go!