I have never been one for transitions. And I say this with complete honesty and no shame. 

I almost bit a hole through my lip during my transition to kindergarten, there were tears at the end of 1st grade when I had to say goodbye to one of the most fantastic and vibrant teachers (one who ironically happens to be retiring this year.) I remember getting choked up at my last soccer game on the school team, my final jazz band performance in High School. You know-I think even as a young child, even though I could not articulate it, I just knew that the beginnings and the ends were hard. They were hard because often times I was enjoying life so much that transitioning into something else was hard. Though, even to this day, though my tiny body is now much bigger, I find the endings are still so much harder than the beginnings. I'm still that same person I was so many years ago sitting on my grandparent's chair in Buffalo, realizing the days were dwindling from my Christmas Break and soon I would have to go home again. 

So it isn't hard to imagine that transitions are hard for everyone. Particularly for children. And at the end of every school year, I feel this as a teacher. Today, there were a lot of tears. Usually at the end of every school year, I just sense a change. Kids feel nostalgia. Some of them do bite their lip when they feel the end coming. I heard so many comments today such as, "I can't believe we are going to be going to fourth grade soon." "I don't want to." "Do we have to leave?"  Leaving is exciting absolutely. And I remind them of the beautiful things that are to come every single day. The end marks celebration and pride. But I have to say, I made a promise to myself when I first had my own classroom four years ago and that is - my ultimate goal is to create such magic, such joy within the classroom that leaving is difficult. Because almost every teacher I ever had-conquered this sentiment. Leaving was always bittersweet. And these are the teachers that taught me to make those smiley  faces with a little hair curly cue, these are the teachers who played George Winston in their classrooms during quizzes and cracked jokes all year long. Those were the teachers that shook my hand on the last day of school said, "Miss Amoscato...it was fun. What a great ride we had."

Our time here on earth is to make our memories our beginning and endings worth remembering. So worth it in fact, they it is hard to leave them behind. The next time you begin creating-remember that this is your time to make an ending so very worth it, that those you love will find it hard to say goodbye.