Transitions

As I spent a few minutes catching up on the exciting happenings of the lives of my family and friends via their blogs, it occurred to me that I had not posted anything on this blog for quite a while. I'm a terrible blogger. I don't think I will ever be particularly consistant with that...of course, when am I ever particularly consistant with anything? But that's another story...anyway, I was pondering this lack of blogging, and I came to realize why I suddenly feel that I have nothing to say (unusual for me...). I am not teaching anymore. For the past three years, my whole life has been wrapped up in my job/ministry. I spent the days teaching students, controlling behaviours, nurturing relationships, attending faculty meetings, and pacifying parents. I spent the evenings at ballgames, Bible Studies with my students, grading papers and tests, and preparing A-V aids. I spent my weekends planning lessons, catching up on parent communications, attending tournaments, or hanging out with "my kids." Of course, I have friends and family and enjoyed spending time with them outside of school, but CBS consumed the majority of my time and in a very real way, CBS was my ministry, my job, my family, my life. It's who I was. Even though I am technically no longer working there, I still find myself saying "I'm a teacher" when people ask me what I do. I still think of the rising Seniors of 2010 as "my kids" - I spent every morning of the school year with them. I still think the first room on the left of the High School building is my classroom - my desk is still sitting there, along with my chair. I have not brought them home yet - I think that feels too final. The mural that my kids painted is still on the wall in my classroom, and I shudder to imagine a new teacher covering it up because it does not fit her classroom decor. I love CBS, and even though I will not be on the payroll next year, I will still think of it as my school. And I think that, on the first day of the 2009-2010 school year, I will show up to eat lunch with my students, argue with the admin about the coffee in the teacher's lounge, and poke my head into the 12th grade homeroom to congratulate my 11th graders on making it to the home stretch. And when I'm settled in to my new life across the ocean, I'll still cheer on the CBS Conquerors, argue with the admin about coffee via email, and watch the video of my 11th graders graduating. I'll miss CBS, but I know that once the transition is made, I'll have plenty of new things to blog about pertaining to life in Cairo.