June Photo a Day Challenge -- Week 1

I regretfully got behind in May, and although I participated for most of the month, I never posted them here.  However, I am determined to do better in June, so here are my prompts for the month:

And here are my photos for the first seven days:

Day 1 -- Morning

Day 2 -- Empty

Day 3 -- On my Plate (bacon and egg sandwich from Toast before church)

Day 4 -- Close-up

Day 5 -- Sign

Day 6 -- Hat

Day 7 -- Drink (delicious strawberry-banana smoothie Jason made me for breakfast)

This week has been a fun one, and the prompts were easy to fulfill.  I love seeing everyone else's photos, especially some of you I follow on Instagram (Erin and Victoria, I'm talking to you!).

May Photo a Day Challenge -- Week 1

The last two weeks of April got so busy that I fell behind and didn't complete the photo a day challenge, but I am back on track for May, and back to posting, I hope, each week.

Here are the prompts for May:

And here are my photos for Week 1:

Day 1 -- Peace

Day 2 -- Skyline (NYC)

Day 3 -- Something I Wore Today

Day 4 -- Fun (Y-Club cookout)

Day 5 -- Bird(s)

Day 6 -- Me

Day 7 -- Someone Who Inspires Me (This little one inspires me to be a better person every day.)

May has been fun so far, so I'm hoping I can keep up this month!  :)  I'd love to see your photos if you are playing along!  Have a great week, friends!

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Last Thursday, May 10, 2012, was one of the duties each year that I most look forward to and dread, all at the same time: graduation.  As a high school teacher, I am expected to attend graduation, and sit with all the other faculty on the floor behind the graduates (and in front of the band) while hundreds of people stare down at us from the bleachers.  While graduation is such a special rite of passage that I am honored to be a part of, each year there are always students who I will miss, making the occasion bittersweet.

This year's graduation was especially difficult, for several reasons.  Among this year's graduating class were some of my favorite students to ever grace the hallways of RCHS, including my first cousin Jared, and my student aide this year, Sydney. Along with these two were also about 25 other students who were in both my Honors English I and II classes, which created a special bond with that group who endured my antics for two solid years. :)

These students were not only exceptional when it came to their schoolwork, but they were just nice kids who genuinely cared about each other, and even about me.  They were in my class the year that I became a mom, and one of them even visited me in the hospital.  They wrote me notes about how much they missed me while I was on maternity leave.  One of them lost his father his sophomore year while he was in my class, and we tried our best to show him how much we all cared.  Even when they weren't my students and were upperclassmen, they would pop in my class to visit, or buy a snack from me in the afternoons, or even come play Just Dance on the last day of school.  One of them even made the choice to work in my classroom (and I seriously put her to work) every day of her senior year, a decision not many students would make when there were plenty of easier classes available. One of those students I had for two years is also my first cousin, and watching him grow up and become a young man has been remarkable. All in all, this senior class was just one of my favorite groups to interact with, and watching them graduate broke my heart just a little bit.

When Sydney (who was also the class president) mentioned my name in her speech, I simply lost it.  I am already an emotional person by nature, but in a career where sometimes you don't feel as though you see the fruition of your work, or many days you go home feeling as though your students don't "get it," it was the moment that validated every ounce of energy I have poured into my work and made me realize that if all I ever do is touch one student and a make a difference in one life, it has been totally worth it.  It was one of those nights when I remembered why I love my job.

After the emotion of graduation, it was fun to watch the students let loose at Project Graduation and enjoy a few hours as "kids," singing karaoke, jumping/sliding on inflatables, and stuffing themselves with food.  It was a joy to witness and participate in their last few hours as RCHS students, and I will be forever grateful that our paths crossed.

Congratulations, Class of 2012!  Mrs. Davidson loves you!

Big Apple Adventure

Jason and I were blessed to be able to, for the second year, help chaperone my school's senior trip to New York City, with a stop in Gettysburg on the way up.

This group of students is extra special to me, because many of them were students of mine both their freshmen and sophomore years, and they were my students when Connor was born, so many of them have seen me and known me through a time of great excitement and change, and I have grown especially close to several of them.

It doesn't matter how many times I visit NYC, there is something magical about this city and everything it has to offer.  I love every moment of hustle and bustle, of watching and looking and learning, and more than anything, I love seeing the city through the eyes of our students, most of whom are visiting for the first time.

I love seeing their faces as they see the skyline for the first time.

I love watching as they take in the majesty at the top of the Empire State Building.

I love their wide eyes at seeing Times Square for the first time, especially at night.

I love watching a Broadway play with them, and seeing even the boys sniffle at an emotional moment on stage.

I love seeing them view the Statue of Liberty up close and taking in the skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge from the water.

I love the food in NYC, especially Carmine's penne alla vodka and calamari.

I love walking to Sprinkles, even if it was a 12 block trek each way.

I really love Central Park and how secluded it feels in the middle of such an enormous city.

I love seeing the majesty of a church like St. John the Divine.

I love seeing the city rebuild and renew after tragedy, giving hope to all of us that we can overcome.

I am so thankful, as always, for the opportunity to travel, especially with Jason, these (fantastic, well-behaved, kind, soon-to-be-missed) seniors, and the other chaperones, who provided fun, memories, and more laughter in five days than should be allowed.  I am also thankful for my family who watched (and spoiled) Connor while we were gone.  I could rest easy in NYC knowing he was well cared for, although I still missed him terribly.

Home and my boy were a sight for sore eyes, but I hope another visit to the Big Apple is in our future, because I miss it a little already.