Hurry Up! No! Slow Down!

There are about three weeks left in the school year.  That's right -- in Japan the school year ends in late March and resumes in April (and the kids go to school year-round).  I can't believe I've had my class for an entire year already!


I'm pretty excited about the end of the school year for one reason: SPRING BREAK!!!!!  Kris and I have our plane tickets bought, our hotels reserved, and have already started looking into the adventures we'll be having in Bali, Indonesia!!!!!!!  We are sooooooo looking forward to this trip: we'll be relaxing at a very nice resort on a white sands beach, exploring the culture of the island, tasting civet coffee, touring rice fields and volcanoes, eating Balinese food, getting daily massages and shopping til our suitcases explode (the latter two activities being mine, not Kris's).  Though we only have a week off for spring break (and between school years), we are greatly anticipating sharing this adventurous and relaxing trip together (We joke that it will be our 3rd honeymoon...the 2nd honeymoon was our trip to Thailand).  I often find myself wishing for these last three weeks to speed up so I could be on the beach fast!


But then I remember that after this break is over I won't be going back to my same classroom with my same kids.  And I want to yell, "No! Time, slow yo'self down!!!!!!"  I love Love LOVE my students this year; I don't want them to leave me and go on to a new class.  Every day I find myself laughing at different things they say and do; every day, they make me excited to go to work.


I know that next year will be another good year teaching at MeySen.  I'm sure there will be some sweet, funny kids in my next class.  But there is just something really special about this group of kids.  Maybe it's because they are the first class that I've taught completely on my own; maybe it's the way that Sally works so hard and has come so far in the year and always has a smile on her face every day; maybe it's the way Kendell always cracks jokes that make me howl or surprises me with his wit and incredible intelligence; maybe it's the way that Gwen hugs me when she comes in and wants to cuddle up in my lap at snack time or hold my hand during play time; perhaps it's from Evan, a "tough guy", screaming in a high pitched voice like a little girl when we are playing soccer or tag and sending me into hysterics; maybe it's about how I always have to remind Anita that she should be working on her stations and not doing ballet in the back of the classroom; maybe it's the way that Levi used to be my biggest struggle but has climbed his way into my heart and now gives me the greatest joy (and a lot of funny stories to tell); maybe it's how Zeke is a wealth of knowledge and the humility I feel after hearing him speak; maybe it has to do with how hungry these kids are for God's word.


All I know is that, for whatever reason, these kids have a special place in my heart.  And though I am excited for spring break, I'm going to  slow down and enjoy every moment I have with them before they move on to fourth grade.  Thank goodness that next year they'll just be across the hall! :-)

My Class

PS. Yeah, I made that tiger heart ;-) It has the kids names on it, but I had to blot them out.