Starting the Goodbyes

It's 5:30am and I can't sleep.

This time of year is always difficult for me. I'm looking forward to our vacation, yet I'm torn up inside with saying goodbye to people.

We had our first set of goodbyes on Tuesday night at the English Bible Study class. We had become pretty good friends with 3 of the students this year, and one is going to study in the States, one is going into the army, and the third is moving back to Taipei. Although they're Taiwanese, and aren't exactly worlds away, I know that these are friendships that we had in the moment, which makes me sad. It's hard to let go. It's hard to say goodbye.

Two of the other students are exchange students from Mainland China. I'm pretty sure that we won't ever see them again. That made me sad to know that it's a pretty permanent kind of goodbye.

I have 7 seventh graders leaving this year. One just told me today. These kids have it hard. Many of their parents either switch jobs, move overseas, or even worse, don't even tell their kids that they won't be coming back to the same school until the summer.

Tonight we have the 9th grade dinner. I've grown quite fond of these students I teach and I really will miss them. They're fun, they're spunky, they're the best teens I've ever met and worked with. I hope I don't cry.

With all the moves we've made, all the goodbyes we've said, all the email addresses I've collected, I thought I was hardened to more goodbyes. But this is a new kind of goodbye - I'm not their friends; I'm their teacher. The keeping-in-touch ball isn't in my court; it's in theirs.

3 days and 12 hours before we're on our way to the airport....