"School's out for summer....

"School's out for summer.... " It's funny, but that old Alice Cooper song was written in a thank you card I received from one of the students in my building on the last day of school. I wouldn't think a fourth-grade girl would know that song, but apparently she did. I had to laugh, because she is normally this quiet, reserved, soft-spoken thing. But what kid hasn't heard that song and not instantly want to sing it the last day of school? It made my day.

For many, it was the last day at elementary. Their next step is middle school. I some how lost track of that fact until some of my fifth-graders came in on the last day to say, "Good-bye." Of the three girls that came into my office, two were smiling with anticipation of summer and their step into growing up and going to the new school and all it has in store for them. But, for one girl, tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn't speak. She was realizing fully well that this was her last day of elementary school. She would be leaving the security of all that she had known and been comfortable with; the building, the teachers and staff. And it hit me, too. I may never get the chance to see her again, and I felt sad.

For over 12 years, I've worked at the same building. My little elementary school has gone through principal changes, grade-level changes, and name changes. I've had 6 principals in that time. We've gone from grades 2-5 to just 4th, 5th and preschool. Our name was West Elementary. We are now Central Intermediate - West Campus. We house just around 200 students at a time. Soon, after our new building is built, we will merge with Central Primary - East Campus and become just Central Elementary and will house around 500+ kids.

Even though there have been many changes, I've enjoyed the opportunity to work with the children that come and spend time with me in our little building. I'm the one who takes care of their boo-boo's, calls their mom when they are sick, and I even let them call home for forgotten homework when they come into the office looking all forlorn and teary-eyed. They become "my kids" for the brief time they are there. It's all in a day's work for me. It's my job. But during that process, I get to know them and become attached to their lives.

It's amazing how many of their names I can remember even years after they've moved on. I suppose it comes from writing their names a hundred times in a year for class lists, attendance, etc. So, I look for their names in the paper. I point them out at football games and band concerts. "There's a former West School student!" I say with pride as if it were my child. It always amazes me to see them all grown up and the accomplishments they've made, especially since I can remember them as they were in elementary school.

Some of the children have stories that could break your heart in two. Those are the ones that haunt me. I sometimes think of them and say a prayer for them, hoping that God can fix what no one else can seem to touch. I can say I've seen first-hand what God can do through prayer. It was God that helped the youngster that was slipping through the cracks. All of our top experts and most dedicated adults on the case were unable to help, but God caused a miracle. I cannot share the details because of confidentiality, but I know it was God that put him on my heart to pray for him. And it was God that caused the circumstances to change.

When I think of all the children that God trusts to our care, I wonder about all the missed opportunities to pray for them and and how it could effect their lives. I wonder about how important it is for us to show them kindness and love while we have a chance, and not take them for granted. I forget that it's not just a job that I have to tolerate from 8-4 pm. It's kind of a ministry. Even though I provide a service and I'm an employee of Logan-Hocking Schools, I'm first and foremost a delegate of God.

I thank God for the opportunity He has given me. I am thankful that He has mysteriously kept me from being sick from every imaginable virus and germ that comes into my office during the school year. I'm grateful that He makes me able to focus and stay on task even though I am interrupted a thousand times a day. I am amazed when people tell me "thank you" for just doing my job. I am delighted when I get any card from a student whether it's for my birthday, secretary's day or a just a thank you card. All in all, I can say that I feel blessed to be where I am. God must have put me there, because he has blessed me during the process.

And the best part of my job? Summer vacation! "School's out for summer!...."