el ultimo dia
I knew it would be hard. I just didn’t know it would be this hard. On Friday morning, as I walked down the hallway, on our last official day of school, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was filled with love and compassion for all my little ones. I was filled with great pride for how much they had learned and how much they had grown over the year. And of course, I was filled with sadness. I was not ready to say goodbye.
Our day was filled with fun games and activities and I had successfully been holding back any tears that I felt coming on. It was during our end of the year party when the trouble began. We celebrated with cake and ice cream. I handed out pictures of my students in their home-made frames. They all received their end of the year gifts and certificates. Everything was going just fine. Until....I heard a faint voice coming from the back of the room....Naomi starts singing "I love you, Miss Anna, oh yes I do", twenty-two voices join in, "I love you, Miss Anna, and it is true. When you're not with me, I'm blue. Oh Miss, Anna, I love you!" Before they had finished, the tears had already come to my eyes and they were
not stopping. When I finally looked up behind my tears, I saw that my students, and their parents who are all standing in the back of the room, were now crying as well. They then started to chant "que no se vaya, Miss Anna" (don't go!), while banging on the table. Then all 23 of them jumped out of their chairs and engulfed me in a large class hug. This did not help with the tears. For a large part of the afternoon, Naomi just sat at her table in tears and Perla kept yelling ¨NO¨ at me. Like I said, I didn´t know it would be this hard.
Our day was filled with fun games and activities and I had successfully been holding back any tears that I felt coming on. It was during our end of the year party when the trouble began. We celebrated with cake and ice cream. I handed out pictures of my students in their home-made frames. They all received their end of the year gifts and certificates. Everything was going just fine. Until....I heard a faint voice coming from the back of the room....Naomi starts singing "I love you, Miss Anna, oh yes I do", twenty-two voices join in, "I love you, Miss Anna, and it is true. When you're not with me, I'm blue. Oh Miss, Anna, I love you!" Before they had finished, the tears had already come to my eyes and they were
not stopping. When I finally looked up behind my tears, I saw that my students, and their parents who are all standing in the back of the room, were now crying as well. They then started to chant "que no se vaya, Miss Anna" (don't go!), while banging on the table. Then all 23 of them jumped out of their chairs and engulfed me in a large class hug. This did not help with the tears. For a large part of the afternoon, Naomi just sat at her table in tears and Perla kept yelling ¨NO¨ at me. Like I said, I didn´t know it would be this hard. As I embraced mothers and siblings who have been just as much a part of this journey as my students, I was filled with happiness at the beautiful friendships I had made and the relationships that had formed. And as I watched my students scurry down the hallway that afternoon and into their busitos, I felt sadness, but I also felt a rush of joy. These student and their families were my life here. And even though I am leaving, they will always be a part of my life.
I knew it would be hard. I just didn´t know it would be this hard.
posted by Anna | 1:34 PM
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