You know...

Something beautiful about being a teacher we don't think about is the fact that we are so aware of the opening and the closing of a year. And I have to say every year when the closing comes I feel more nostalgic than the previous year. There has never been a single year of my teaching year I have not shed tears or becoime emotional at the close. Tears of happiness when you see the fifth graders pass on to their new phase of life, tears of happiness when you see just how much a single child has grown in a year and tears when you realize that despite the fact you will receive a beautiful new class next year..you will never have a class composed at that moment of those exact kiddos. That is something special. A snapshot in time.  A reminder that growth occurs every year of life (whether we realize it or not.)

But truly...as I'm looking through old albums as we speak and writing simultaneously, people truly don't understand how precious a year is. A year has the potential to be magical or full of heartache. It has the potential to discover something undiscovered and dream up something new. Every year teems with possibility and new friendships, hours of laughter, creating and just enjoying time that we have. 

Beginnings and endings are difficult but important. 

They remind us that time passes so very quickly. 10 years..goes by like the blink of an eye. So when you are living in that moment-really live in it. Think about where you are, who you are with and the feeling of being present. Because some day you will look back and realize that those moments were some of the most magical moments of your life.