Endings

I have recently had an experience with having to end my association with an organization that I have been a part of for many years.  It feels awful.  There were many reasons for this, but it still feels bad.  I have thought and prayed for many days and nights about the situation and came to the painful decision to end my association with this group.

My reason for writing this is that a loss is a loss.  Some are greater than others but they all feel bad.  Endings make us have to deal with those nasty feelings of sadness, anger, and grief.  I have learned over the years that grieving the loss of something is as important as grieving the loss of a person.  While I know it's not the same, the same process needs to happen.  None of it is fun but all if it is part of the journey.

I will miss the people who are involved with this group but I have to move on.  I think about our children when I am going through something like this.  It brings up the empathy response.  My babies go through endings all the time.  People will say "they're just kids" and "oh they won't notice", but they do.  We need to teach our children how to deal with endings.  Whether it's the loss of a loved one, divorcing parents, loss of a pet or a friend moving away, these children need to be able to express their feelings and let people know how they feel.  We need to be good listeners and let them tell us what happened.  They may not be able to tell us how they feel about it, but we can help them with that too.

It's a good thing to feel and express your feelings.  I don't like it sometimes but I know it's good.  We need to remember that just because our children are small or young, doesn't mean they don't have the same feelings.  They just might not be able to express them.  It's our job, as teachers, to help them learn.

Spring Break

How did it already get to be Spring Break?  The children are excited and some of them are acting out because they don't want to spend a week at home.  A week at home means no schedule, no regular meal times and maybe no attention.  It can be really hard for these little ones to readjust to home life.  Children want and need a routine and schedule.  It doesn't have to be a "to the minute" schedule.  However, it does need to let them know what's happening next.  That takes time and energy to set up.  Some of our parents work two and three jobs and still qualify for free lunch.  Others don't work at all but don't have any idea of how to set and keep a schedule, for themselves or for their children.  We have all kinds of kids and parents. The one thing I know is that, whatever the situation, these parents, grandparents, guardians, etc are doing the best they can with the tools they have.  Children don't come with instructions.  We tend to do what we were taught.  Most of us were taught by example.  Some are good examples and some are not, but all of them are doing their best.

I hope you have a safe and restful Spring Break.  I hope that this time restores your inner peace and helps you to deal with the rest of the year.  It's going quickly.