As of yesterday, 11:31 AM, I'm retired! It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but I THINK the doom and gloom will rear its ugly head, even for a short moment or two. However, going out was a lot of fun and I do believe it is going to be just fine, in fact it is going to be FAN-TA-BU-LOUS!!!!!
It all began on Thursday morning with our end-of-the-year assembly. All five of us retirees received a rosebud corsage when we went up to the front of the auditorium. The awards were then handed to the children, I was introduced by our Principal, then I read my three page poem. It just happened to be three pages long because I printed it off in larger sized letters so I could read it without my $5.00 pair of reading glasses from Dollar General.
The audience admired the poem with a resounding round of applause. My few moments of glory a year!! My Principal told everyone she hoped she could talk me into continuing to come back and write one every year. Hey, we all need a little ego booster in our lives, now don't we?
The rest of the day, I got so many wonderful hugs from the children, the parents and my co-workers that I came home with some unexplained bruises! Do hugs bruise?
I also read the book I had written many years ago to some of the 7 classes of Kinders we have. The book is titled, Sticky Mr. Blue and Friends. It is a rhyming book about crayons. It has some lessons in it that help teach youngsters how to conduct themselves. Then as my gift to the children, I run off a copy for each child as a coloring book. One teacher told me she still expects me to share my book at the end of each school year, even though I won't be employed full time. She said ending the school year without my Sticky Mr. Blue and Friends just wouldn't be the same.
The kids were so impressed with knowing a real author and illustrator that several asked for my autograph.
Actually the book was self-published by MOI
on our trusty, and many times not so trusty, copy machine in the workroom
!
Friday was basically, PARTY TIME! Lots of gifts, smiles, tears, cleaning, throwing away, checking out the recycle bin for treasures that were moments before someone else's junk. And of course the children who couldn't keep from bouncing in their seats, on the floor, in the hallways, on the sidewalks, on top of one another and in the cafeteria line. Of course, the only way to survive the day is to eat lots of chocolate and bounce right along with them. The old adage, If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Hey, Going with the flow, is an Elementary School survival tactic!!!
Friday night was very special! My two best buddies, who are also my fellow retirees, and our hubbies went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in our quaint, little town. None of us would be considered party animals, but oh did we celebrate that night! We toasted our ice tea or water glasses, shared our stories about the children, and somehow the conversation made its way to Depends and Poise products. And if that isn't quality celebrating, then the evening was topped off by our waitress, who also happens to be one of our school secretaries, bringing the three of us a complimentary piece of chess pie for dessert while our hubbies looked on with envious looks and drooling mouths.
We all agreed, as we said our farewells at the late hour of 8:30, that we definitely will have to do it again sometime.
Although our night before carousing rendered us all sleepy the next morning, we were told to report to our Principal's office before our end-of-the-year assembly to sign some extremely important papers from our new Superintendent. When I rushed into the office, instead of papers waiting, the Principal put on me three stands of gold and purple pearls, WELL THEY LOOKED LIKE PEARLS!, a purple and gold feathered boa, and a diamond tiara. WELL THEY LOOKED LIKE DIAMONDS!!!!!
So, there we all were from the Elementary campus, looking so regal in our purple and gold boas, with us five retirees dressed like QUEENS with our added elegance of pearls and diamonds. The other three campuses, Intermediate, Middle, and High School were so in awe of our regal-ness, that they all sat there with their mouths open and speechless! I wish all of you could have been there to witness such POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE!!!!
We were so glorious that we were given beautiful plaques to commemorate this special day. One male teacher from Middle School and another female teacher from High School joined our happy little baby-boomer-teacher-retiree-club up front. They were quite envious of our QUEEN-FOR-A-DAY garb, but alas, they were KING-less and QUEEN-less! Too bad, so sad!
We learned our manners from the children throughout the years!!!
NANNY NANNY BOO-BOO!!!!!
(a note of worthiness here) I lost some of my post, so I am stopping for now before frustration sets in and I start throwing a tantrum, much like our Kinders or their parents. I'm too tired to back-pedal to retrieve my Pulitzer prize-winning thoughts from my less than perfect brain, so for now, good-night and I will finish this later today, after church services) Karen
