Sad Endings

It is tough to say goodbye. I feel like I have had so many in the last few years. First from Ohio, and now from New York.

My work had a "going away" lunch on Friday. It is so nice to be recognized for the efforts that I have done this academic school year. I often wonder if anyone benefits from the services provided.

Typically working with teenagers is like working with 5 year olds. They are self centered and have difficulty with long term planning. You can tell by their grades. Most of the students I work with have an "oh crap" moment right before the quarter ends...they end up doing crazy amounts of work to try to raise their grades. This is what I work with...So, much to my surprise one of the male (yes, it is important that you know he is male) students I worked with had a friend of his (a girl) create a "farewell" poster for me. He then had enough insight to get other students that came through our clinic to sign their names. He worked on this for at least a week before our end of the year party. At the end of the party he sauntered over (yes, sauntered is a good way to explain it) and handed me this poster. He was so embarrassed to give it to me. I was so touched by his thoughtfulness...and the insight he had (which is rare for an adolescent, much less a male adolescent!!!!) He later told me he was going to put on the poster...see ya around "B" (swear word). Oh, how much I will miss my students!

Maybe, Just Maybe I have made a small difference! This is why I do this work!

I will miss this ward. I was in the R.S presidency for a short time (2 months) and while I thought they were crazy for calling me to this position, I have learned a great deal. I have also come to know many of the sisters much better than I did. I will miss this area. But, the church is true wherever you go!

I will miss the green trees and the lush grass...as we are moving to the desert and everything is brown, brown, brown! I will miss that everything is in reasonable driving distance (Boston, NYC). In Utah/Nevada everything is so far apart and you drive for 8 hrs. to get to anything good. Good Bye NY!