And now, the end is here...

Almost!! Only hours to go!! Though, essentially I'm done now. What? I don't think I quite understood that last sentence!  DOES NOT COMPUTE!! I'm what??? Done? Finished? Kaput? Over and out? Out to pasture?

                      RETIRED!!

TRULY? They're really going to let me leave? And continue to pay me? Is this legal??  'Cause it feels really weird - like I'm going to wake up and find out it was all a big practical joke!

Last night I dined at the parents of my graduating student, Alex. As a polish immigrant this woman knows how to cook! Pork roulade, chicken that had been marinated for 2 days, and salmon. Two kinds of slaw, potatoes, rice, her world-famous mushroom sauce, green salad, two kinds of dessert. Ooooof! I'm turning into a barrel!

However, I was so glad to leave! Oh my! Her husband said that he likes when they have guests because then his wife has to treat him a little nicer. Nice? You call that nice? The man can say nothing right - every time he started to say something she would interrupt him in her constantly LOUD and SHRILL voice - no, you're wrong....actually, it happened like this....that's not what I meant at all....the point is....no, no, no, let me tell the story...she overpowered him at every turn - I'm surprised he even opens his mouth at all. She insulted him constantly...I could barely stand it and it went on from 5pm til I managed to leave at almost 10pm! What an ordeal!

However, that is done and over so I will move on...tonight I am volunteering at graduation so I will get to say good-bye to many Gr. 12 students who were members of my Best Buddies club - there will be lots of tears. It will be closure for them and for me. Then tomorrow I will go in early one last time, sit at my desk with a cup of coffee...and remember..........then mass, a brief meeting and lunch at Aromas - a wonderful Portugese restaurant here in London. And then...

                      FREEDOM!!!

and then on to the Village Pub for drinkies with friends, pack up my truck on Saturday and hit the road on Sunday. Wow, is this really happening???   Just pinched myself - yup, I'm awake! It doesn't feel real yet, I wonder when it will?

Here are a few pics from my open house - I figure if I keep looking at images from all of the celebrations over the past couple of weeks maybe I'll start to believe it....

 Alex, we are both "retiring"...

 This is the best smile David could muster lol!

 Some of this year's gang - Natalie, David, Alex and Kianna..

A former student - all grown up! So handsome Rustic! and very tall!

 my pal Amanda, she is so very sweet:)

 Former student - Adam (we share the same last name so I always called Adam "my son by another mother!"

Former students and brothers Shawn and Gary - again, all grown up! (and handsome!!)

 Former student Agniezka and her dad - she gave a little impromptu speech and did very well!

 It took some tracking down but I found former student Jesse (her dad died  a couple months ago and she's now living with other relatives); she still loves to rub my head and say "porcupine hair!"

My AV guy, Jerry.  I got to hug so many handsome men that day :)

Cutting my cake - throughout the whole afternoon I only managed to eat a piece of blueberry cake baked at my request by my retiring student's polish mom - she sure can cook!!

 My super duper extra large sized card :)

My retirement pal -Fil - formerly the dep't head of Learning Services...

The staff and students put together a video - perhaps I'll post it one of these days - it was very emotional witnessing each student saying goodbye in their own special way...

good memories or as they say in Tignish - the very best!

the love of my life, former student Todd came to visit so we shared some cake :)

my bestie, Jules, stopped by, thank you my dear one!

 that cake I'm holding? I'm feeding it to Todd, I miss those times with you Todd... (Todd's mom to the left and his dad in the background with Jules...)

 Alex's best buddy - Melissa - they have shared some special moments over the years - they enjoyed dancing together to 60's tunes on Fridays...

the best EA ever and party organizer Michele behind me - thanks Michele!!

our big boy Paul and his mom behind me...

Paul loves to draw and drew some pictures of him and I as a gift - thanks Paul!!

 Some extraordinary best buddies!

It's difficult to see but I am holding a pink glass heart, engraved from Todd :) He stole my heart years ago!

 since it's too late to fire me I figured I could get away with sitting on Todd's knee one last time!!

Colin, a supply EA who spent most of the year with us thankfully, and Cristhian (a former street kid from El Salvador, saved by adoption and brought to Canada), an amazing young man:)

and what a thrill to see Lori once more, she's graduating from another highschool this year after being with me for 5 years. Due to family issues (her parents couldn't manage her behaviour so Lori had to move into a mental health facility which was not within the boundaries of my school). Now she's graduating and her caseworker is looking into a group home placement. Good luck Lori!

 Lori was missing a CCH yearbook from 2011-2012 (she has a mind like a steel trap) and I just happened to have one so I gave it to her. We got her former classmates to write in it so that worked out well :)

Such great smiles! It was the best day of my career seeing all of my students from the past and present together for one last time. Very emotional day...

If you made it to the end of this post - BRAVO!! I feel like I should have something amazingly deep and meaningful to say right now but I just feel exhausted, wrung out and in a daze. I really need a holiday lol!! I'd best get preparing for a long one!!  I have a long to-do list to help me get on my way so I better get cracking! TTYL!!

Discombobulated...

What a great word eh? Discombobulated. I don't know if I spelled it correctly or not because I am IT....that is to say I'm discombobulated. It's a fun word to type too!

So I killed some time today in a thrift shop - finally found a great rain jacket with hood for my trip to the Cotswolds. And a few other things - yoga pants, T-shirts, sports wear tops and a gorgeous ceramic bird feeder for $3. (for PEI, not the Cotswolds!)

Then I had a bit more time so stopped at Chapters, Canada's premiere book store (actually our only book store chain). I browsed the travel section and found a great book called "World's Greatest Walks" or something like that. Due to the generosity of staff and a parent I have a nice sum of $$ to spend at Chapters. I didn't have the gift cards with me today however so I'll make that purchase another day.

At that point it was time to drive to my graduating student Alex's house for dinner at 5pm. Sophia (mom) opened the door with a strange look on her face...yup, you guessed it (or not), dinner is tomorrow night, not tonight....sigh....discombobulated.

She had a great laugh, at my expense, and invited me in for a drink. Bless her. She was still laughing 1/2 an hour later when I left. I'm sure when I go there tomorrow she'll still be laughing!

One more dinner...I can do this...one more dinner...

Otherwise it was a pretty good day. My students, staff and I walked downtown and had breakfast at Billy's Deli, a famous spot in London renowned for their deli meats and their pies! After a yummy and very filling breakfast we walked to the forks of the Thames (London's famous river named after the even more famous London and their river-we Canadians are so UNoriginal) where there was a playground and splash pad. As if that wasn't enough FUN for one day we hopped on a city bus and rode the entire bus route which eventually went by our school.

And then - my LAST MEETING!! As my dep't head read a prayer to begin the meeting she got a bit teary as it's her LAST MEETING too!! Strange how my reaction is more in the line of EUPHORIA!! My eyes were dry! How can you be sad about NO MORE MEETINGS??

So, other than getting my days mixed up it was a good day. Tomorrow is my last day with the students (sniff sniff), then I'm getting my truck in for maintenance and spending some time with Kazi as she leaves for a 5 day concert in the forest event in Michigan and when she gets back I'll be GONE!! She won't see me for 5 months - I wonder if she'll miss me at all?

 Finally, I leave with you a couple pictures of my principal and me at my open house. I just realized I have about 200 photos from that day and haven't really shared any yet. Finally, someone my own size!