Farewell HWW

That's all folks! It is the last day of the 2011-2012 school year here in Alberta, and the end of my time at Henry Wise Wood.

It is so easy to get caught up in the negative, and I don't always remember to be grateful. Today, I have only been thinking of how blessed I have been to have been at HWW since my first year of teaching. It's a gig some people never manage to land, due to circumstance, no matter how much they deserve it. I am not sure that I deserved it at all, but somehow I got to do it. I learned so much.

The final lesson learned is this: I do not regret one good or generous or loving thing I ever did in my job. However, there are times that I was selfish, self-indulgent, or spiteful. At the time I felt so justified, but now all of that seems childish and wasteful. Those moments, I wish I could erase. I learned a lot from them, but I wish that I had not harmed students or colleagues in the process of my personal growth. At times, I fear I did. The important thing to do now is to demonstrate that as a result of these frailties and mistakes, I have grown to be a better woman, a better teacher, a better friend, and a better colleague. That is how I can show my gratitude and I intend to.

Now I am off to go through my jewellery and pack it into tiny storage ziplocs so that it arrives safely at my new home. I have lemon and San Pellegrino and the warm summer air blowing in the balcony window. Life is good.