Saying Goodbye

It's that time of year when school starts and summer ends. It's goodbye to summer life and hello to a new year-- a new journey-- with amazing students and lots of ups and downs. Mostly ups though. It's goodbye to those kids who are headed off to college and it makes your heart both proud and sad at the same time. Sad that you won't see them for a while, but proud that they're continuing their educational journey and starting a new chapter in their life. One of my former players/students went to cosmetology school at ISU and not only is she married, she has already opened her own salon. Wow! Erica, I am so proud of you and amazed by your drive and work ethic. She was the same as a player. So much energy and so amazingly fast. Such a sweet person inside too.

Goodbye to one town and hello to another as we move into a new little house in Middleton next week. Goodbye to the good people in the church I attended last year. They were so wonderful that I hope we will be able to land there some day. Goodbye to my brother who left Friday. His unit is being deployed. Hello to new worries until he returns safely. Goodbye to all our grandkids being "babies" as our oldest starts first grade on Wednesday. Hello to another grandbaby in about 6 more months! :D Goodbye to my freshmen from last year (they really were a special class) and hello to a new group of freshmen. They have a lot to live up to after last year's freshmen!

Went out to visit Grandma Shorty last night and took her a little photo book I put together plus a book on the Grand Ole Opry that I bought. She gave me a garden pick (metal) that has a clear butterfly on top of it and it's solar powered so when the sun goes down, it glows different colors. It's very cool. She LOVES butterflies and has them all over her house-- inside and out-- so we will think of her every time we see it. As we were leaving we talked about how we'd put it in front of our new house and put a frog next to it (to remind us of his Grandma Byington) and plant a tiger lily by it (to remind us of my Grandma Tucker) and that's when I realized.... a new house always means... a new journey. I know I will meet people who will help me grow as a person and who will make me a better person for knowing them.

The biggest hello and goodbye as I start this new school year though is.... goodbye to being on the opposite side of the state from my sweetheart/husband and hello to being on the same side of the state, in the same house again and once again... my life is balanced and the world is right.