Sooo... About That Whole Amusement Park Thing.

We took the high school students to Knoebels on an end-of-the-school-year trip today, which has always been a favorite place of mine since I was a young girl. So many memories are built into this park and they are all good!

But I found out today that I just can't handle amusement parks like I used to. We took the students on a trip here three years ago, and I had a little bit of a rough day then, but just thought I was having an off day. Well today proved to me that amusement parks and I must remain friends at a distance. I went on the tame rides today and felt sick to my stomach. After getting off the first ride, I felt awful. I managed to get through the day, but that meant no roller coasters! The Tilt-a-whirl was the last ride of the day, which was a mistake. Even now, hours later, my stomach is still a little shaky.

But I'm glad I went along. My group was the 10-12 grade girls (pictured below) and it was a sweet time... one final time. Three of these girls are graduating next Saturday.

We finished out our school year yesterday, which means that a chapter of my life just closed. I have greatly enjoyed teaching and working with these girls and other students over the past three years. You know the saying, "time flies when you're having fun"? That has been true of my time at EBA. I loved having the privilege of being in these teenagers' lives and finding out the good and the bad. Each day held it's own joys and trials, and I thank the Lord for every school day. When I came home from my trip out West, two of the senior boys were sitting at a table working on Accounting when the one said to me, "Miss Hammond, I'm really glad you're back."

Now if it weren't for the Lord doing a work in my life, I would say I am being pretty stupid walking away from a job I greatly love; away from great students. How silly that would be to throw away the relationship I've built with my students, BUT the Lord is moving me on to Thailand.

So this is a bitter-sweet day of my life. Another school year is over, and the desks are all cleaned out. The lockers have slammed shut for a final time and the hallways will be silent for three months. The shouts of laughter and excitement will soon be but a distant memory and the classrooms will be silent witnesses to all that took place in a span of 180 school days. A senior class will be moving on, never to return as students. And one particular teacher will be in another country at the start of the next school year. I'm glad I had this final day to spend with "my" students, queasy stomach or not!