As Families Go…

School is almost over and honestly, it can’t come quickly enough!  Teachers are wilting before my very eyes.  Parents look exhausted and slightly terrified.  Students appear to have fallen victim to a zombie apocalypse.  Furthermore, I’m not sure who that woman in the mirror is, but it can’t be me!  For the first time in my life, I begin to understand why presidents look so young when they take office and so old when they leave.  How can one school year do this to all of us?

Remember back in September when we were excited and hopeful?  Remember when we had big plans for all we were going to do and learn and be this year?  Remember when our kid’s pants fit and they were bathed and we still made breakfast?  Yeah, me either.  It seems like a decade ago.  Now, I watch helplessly from behind a cup of coffee as my kids rummage through the refrigerator for a piece of leftover chicken and I can’t even see my son’s face because he’s needed a haircut for a month.  And honestly, I’m just hanging on, praying for Friday.

I was thinking on my way into school this morning about the Gramercy family because indeed, that is what we are.  We are a family.  We are a school family and a community family and more importantly, we are the family of God.  But here’s the thing about family.  It can be tough.  In fact, the end of school is kind of like the end of a family reunion.  We were all so happy to get together and catch up and now we’re just ready to go home.  I get it.  I’m sick of the sound of my own voice so I can only imagine how your kids must feel. We pass one another in the hall and do our very best to be cordial, but honestly, we all just need a break.  One of my dear friends has this saying hanging on her wall:  “Home is where my bunch of crazies are,” and that is how I feel about Gramercy, especially by the end of May.

But here’s the other thing, and I want to say this out loud.  Although family can be exhausting and even irritating at times, and although it is clear we can all use a break, I am so thankful for this particular family!  I am thankful that my children are surrounded by a community of people who know them and love them anyway.  I am thankful that I am surrounded by a community of people who have chosen to put up with my foibles and flaws and just continue to try to look for the best in me.  I’m thankful that I work with a community of people who, despite their own weariness, are doing their very best every day to pursue love and good deeds.  And I’m aware that doesn’t happen everywhere.

Here’s the truth:  We all do need summer vacation, but may I just say that if I have to do school and work and breakfast and haircuts and other people in the hall every day, I’m glad I get to do it with you!  Because as families go, I think Gramercy is pretty great!  There may be a bunch of crazies here, myself included, but it’s home nonetheless.

Thank you for being part of the GCS family!