Even if we had our ups and downs, we still had our downs.

Well, it's summer time. School has been out less than two weeks but already school-year life feels so distant.  My entire sleep schedule has shifted four hours later, as if I'm in a different time zone. I have been both making and showing up for doctor's appointments. Meanwhile, the faces of my students are receding into the abyss... of course, I'm looping with the same kids next year, so their faces will come right back out of the abyss in mid-August, as will their pre-teen angst and their need for deodorant.

There's been too much going on in the world for me to bother you all with the goings-on of this little old teacher, but so I thought I better hop in right now while the Senate is on recess.

If this is technically my last post of school year 2012-2013, then I should cap it off in my typical style: totally avoiding the work of actually writing anything by simply quoting things my kids say. 

So, here's the premise. Since I was an associate teacher and floated between different 5th grade classrooms, the teachers on my team were incredibly thoughtful and ended the year by giving me an awesome teacher bag and having every kid write me a card. On the last day of school I got 60 construction paper cards -- about half of which made me put my hand to my chest in the international symbol for feeling sentimental, and about half of which made me laugh out loud. I'm sharing with you the most hilarious, obviously. (I've blocked out kids' names, the name of my school, and my full name because the NSA is reading my blog.)

1) 

It's so hard to pick a favorite part of this card. "Fun and sad sometimes"? Acknowledgement of being "a pain"? "You bend but you don't break us"?! While we ponder that, let's turn to the back as this student has directed us to do with capital letters and exclamatory punctuation.

Bam, favorite part.

2) The best part of this next card is that the weird details this student lists aren't even accurate, and makes it sound like I was a substitute. The brackets are mine but the parentheses are his, and the best.

Front of card: Thank you for helping us!

Inside of card: "You were always there when [their regular homeroom teacher] was out sick, at the doctor's, or had to take care of family (mostly it was the first two). But you get the point. YOU ALWAYS WERE FOR US.

3) This student, on the other hand, fully understands that I am not a substitute teacher but an associate teacher:

4) And now for overachiever (and over-familiar) edition. This would be amazing even without context, but please note that at my school a Community Violation is a red form that students have to fill out when they have made an egregious choice and earned detention. There is no such thing as a Community Congratulation, but now I think there should be.

Well, let's see the back! I sure hope it contains my first and last name. 

5) This one might be my favorite of all. Is this child struggling to communicate a complicated thought using conjunctions, or is she a master of passive aggression?

Front of card: Picture of a flower and a rain cloud

Inside of card: You are a good associate teacher, and even if we had our ups and downs we still had our downs which we learned from. Sincerely, [Name].

Opposite side: A giant red heart

The underlining is hers.

Ah, you kids. You get me every time. You bend but do not break me. I have liked the way I have associated you. It has been fun and sad sometimes. Just remember, my dears: Even if we had our ups and down, we still had our downs.