It’s such an odd feeling to go to school these days.  For 32 years, this building has been filled with children.  Laughing, crying, joyful, angry, challenged, proud, and every feeling in between as each child grew and learned.  Learned to take care of him- or herself, learned what it means to be a good friend, learned patience and responsibility, and yes, learned all those academic skills for which many parents seek us out.  This has been my experience entering this building for 27 years. 

But today, as I do a walk-through to make sure everything is OK, I realize that while the building and property are fine, it’s not really.  Everything is empty, quiet, cold - nothing is moving.  Sure, it’s like that during the Breaks, but there’s an end in sight, work is happening to keep us moving forward, knowing the children and their families will shortly return.  I reassure myself this can’t go on forever, the children will return soon… but not too soon, for their sake.  It doesn’t assuage the ache in my heart and, I know, the hearts of my staff.

All around me, Spring is here.  The flowering trees have graced us, the wildflowers and others are blooming. Everything that looked so dead over winter is back, carrying out their promise to return.  So we carry on: we keep the grass cut, beds weeded, enrollment packets have gone in the mail, plans for fall are under way.  We press on to that happy time when we can be together again.