The News

The past two weeks feel like a whirlwind! It was mostly good things though. But I feel so exhausted. I came home today, put my pj's on, heated up leftovers, and watched some Bachelorette. What is with that show anyway? You really signed up for a national TV show and competed with 24 other guys to find a wife? What?!

Anyway...

I took my Master's in Special Education Comprehensive Exam today. 15 pages and 4 hours later, it was all done. The capstone on my grad work. I'm pretty sure I passed. An 18 out of 30 is passing and I remembered all the sources I needed to remember and probably had more cohesive essays than what I had written for practice.

Rewind to that morning... I was rushing around the house repeating research study authors and publication dates to myself. Brandon was tossing coffee into travel mugs and juggling little Buhner as we were pushing ourselves out the door. I was anxious and a bit snippy about getting out the door, but stopped myself and asked Brandon to pray with me.--That happens more and more often these days, stopping in the middle of something and sometimes not in our best moments to pray--We prayed for my exam then I prayed "God I pray that I DO get that job and that I would find out today"... That felt pretty bold and pretty crazy to basically say to God, "Yeah, I want that job. Can I have it?"

So as I turned in my classroom key and finish filing some last minute paperwork, my phone rings. It was the high school principal I interviewed with offering me the position. So incredible.

I told the office staff and the principal said something to the effect of "Wow, you just turn in your key and you get a job? You're moving near your family, your husband has a job... Everything's falling in place, something must be right."

So true, but not a complete picture. It's not just dumb luck that I found a teaching job in a horrible job market for teachers or that Brandon gets to start doing what he has wanted to do for several years... God is totally in on it. And the beautiful orchestration of timing? God is just such a wonderfully creative writer.

I was talking with my lovely friend yesterday. She called to tell me about amazing things God did in her life. Complete healing and transformation. Then God told her to share what he had done.

So, in light of that conversation, I share all this not to boast, but because God wants us to share the stories of how he's blessed us! They're not just our stories to hold onto. They're part of his larger love story.

What an adventure we're on!

Closing out year 3

If you are a student, a teacher, or have kids in school, you understand the cyclical nature of education.

I feel like a gypsy teacher. For the past 3 years I have roamed and taught where God led. Each year, I invested all I could into the students and brought my wares into a bare canvas... the classroom. That classroom became my classroom.

The beginning of the year always starts the same. There's a rush to get ready. You're not quite sure what you're doing (even if you've done it before). The students are nervous and you're anxious to build a rapport with them. You focus a lot of energy on decorating the classroom and trying to get organized. (Note: photos are from my first year)

By the middle of the year, you've hit a stride. You have a system that works. The honeymoon period is over, you know which students need some extra positive support and which ones you can trust with their work (and your desk supplies). Making sure the classroom is decorated is an afterthought, if you think of it at all. Your initial organization techniques have fallen by a wayside for whatever works. For me: if it's piled on my desk and not filed away, it's on the to-do list.

At the end of the year, you're beginning to close things out with assessments and evaluations. Student and staff emotions run high. You see the fruit of all your work and care as you reflect on how the year started. He used to... Now he... At the beginning of the year, she... Now she... You say goodbye to the students, some are sad and some are just anxious for summer!

Then in a few months, it repeats itself.

Teachers don't do this to become financial moguls, we do it because we love it. We love teaching, learning, impacting students, seeing progress, thinking creatively, and seeing students become more of who they are.

Yesterday, I completed another year. I said goodbye to my students and coworkers, packed up everything, and felt a strong sense of deja vu as I saw the room return to its original state. I was thankful that my husband came to help me pack up.

I don't feel like I have words to describe what it all felt like... Those final moments when everything had been loaded into my car and I looked at the darkened classroom. My desk that had previously been covered with papers was bare. Everything was quiet and Brandon held my hand. Change is so hard, but having worked in 5 different schools and moving 7 times in the past 5 years, it feels refreshing and almost comfortable.

This post feels mostly incoherent, but that's where I'm at right now.

Last week of school quotes

Heard in the classroom this week:

"I found you on google!"

"WHAT?!?! You won't be here next year?"

"You don't love us!!!"

"I'm going to come down to California and burn it down!"

"You know what they say... Curiosity killed the... notebook."

"I'm going to stalk you with your email and look up your geotags on facebook."

And my favorite: "Mrs. Prior, I'll remember you forever."

The move has brought out a lot of emotions. Especially with my students... from threats of violence and terrorism to desperate emotional pleas. One of my students who tends to be inattentive and oblivious started crying when I told the class. If you knew the student, you'd understand why it's noteworthy. One more day with the kids. I can't believe it.

After absorbing numerous responses to our move and feeling more of the reality of it, I have started to feel it. We are starting to feel it. This week has been holding onto a rock in the middle of a hurricane.

It's passing, the sun is coming out, and there is so much hope ahead. Teaching interview next week, Master's comprehensive exam this Wednesday, Europe coming up, then, the move.

Moving alone is completely different from moving together. It's an incredibly bonding experience. On a hard day this week, Brandon and I were commiserating and he wrote the following in an email:

Home will always be together now.

Note: The photos are from our engagement photo session.