I have spent 36 years working towards retirement and the last two years dreaming of it. Still, as I sit here this Monday morning, after my first week of retirement, I am reminded of all the wonderful people I met as a teacher, school administrator, and district administrator. I know that this next phase of my life will be a new adventure, but before I begin that journey, I must thank the people who made my 36 years in education so wonderful.

Thank you to the thousands of students, colleagues, parents, and community members I have met during my journey. To the very first students I taught at J. Leslie Patton Elementary School in Dallas ISD.
They are the reason that I will forever consider myself a 5th-grade teacher. I was a new college graduate hired in December to take over as their teacher. They taught me many things about being a teacher and a better human being. I was truly blessed to work for Howard J. Kirven, and I appreciate him for giving me my start as a teacher.

To the students at Wesley Elementary School and the Acres Home Community, thank you for showing me the power of a community. Your support of the principal, Thaddeus Lott, and the campus staff made my six years at Wesley a joy. I had the opportunity to teach some amazing 5th graders who challenged me daily with their desire to learn. I have always passionately disliked field trips because I worry about losing a student or something else going wrong. That being said, the best field trip I ever took was with my 5th graders to see Steffi Graff play at the Houston Tennis Club. Mattress Mack treated my students to a beautiful day filled with tennis and great food. Steffi even came by Wesley and hit a few tennis balls on the old blacktop P.E. area.

To the sweet third graders, I taught at Wainwright Elementary, many of whom I am still in contact with today, you kept me on my toes. It must be stated that I was never meant to be a 3rd-grade teacher. Still, I am grateful to Mr. Vinklarek for allowing me the opportunity. I loved color-coded folders and bought a box of each color from Target every year so that they all matched. I vividly remember the first time I attempted to have third graders place notebook paper in the brads of the folders, a task that 5th graders did with ease. It was an epic failure because they had never done this before, and my instructions were for 5th graders and not 3rd graders.  We ended up with papers upside down, brads broken, and general mayhem, but we survived and eventually had beautiful folders full of student work. The most incredible team of third-grade teachers helped me make it through three years of teaching third grade. A big thank you to Mr. Summers for allowing me to expand my wings as a magnet coordinator and assistant principal. I must thank him for telling me to get my master’s degree and my husband, Robert, for supporting me while I went to grad school in the evenings. Robert did school drop off and pick up; somehow, most of those drop-offs began with a stop at Starbucks. Additionally, he ensured the children made it to whatever sporting practice they had each evening.

I find it hard to put into words how much I loved my time at Scarborough High School. I had the rare opportunity to serve as a high school assistant principal to many of the students I had known at Wainwright. It was amazing to see those little elementary students as high school students who had developed their unique personalities and sense of style. Sporting events, the competition and fun of homecoming week, the pageantry of the military ball, the excitement of proms, and the thrill of graduations were just a few of the milestones we used to mark the passing of each school year. There were also plenty of high school shenanigans I can laugh about now, such as students letting mice from Petco loose in classrooms. It has been a joy to watch you launch successful careers, start families, and become outstanding members of your communities. I hope to see you at the Scarborough Homecoming this year.

The Scarborough leadership team and staff hold a special place in my heart. You bond with people when building a master schedule, reviewing transcripts, and scheduling students late into the night and on weekends. Esther, or mom, as we called you, my last conversation with you was about family, Christmas, and my retirement. I wish you were here to celebrate with me. I miss you very much.

I greatly thank the central office leaders and teams I had the pleasure to work with. Dr. Love, thank you for the opportunity to take on my first role in the central office as the Director of the Futures Academy. You did not tell me that we would spend all of August hauling college textbooks around the district. Dr. Cruz, thank you for allowing me to spread my wings, take on more responsibilities, and learn more about compliance than I thought possible. Dr. Castillo, thank you for being my first female boss and staying with me almost until the end of my career. Chief Hole, you somehow convinced me to work for an extra month.

Career & Technical Education, Counseling, Federal & State Compliance, Student Records, Social & Emotional Learning, Student Assistance, Crisis Team, Wraparound Services, and Health & Medical Services; thank you for allowing me to be a part of your team.

To the other Houston ISD Central office departments, principals, counselors, and other campus staff I have worked with, you have kept me on my toes for the last 7 years. My cell phone is going to be so much quieter.

Robin, thank you for being my best friend for 20+ years. We have shared many stories about our days in education and will continue to do so.

Lastly, thank you to my family, who have always supported me. I would not have made it through all these years without your encouragement.
You were my rock during many 14-hour days.

They say to make sure you have a plan when you retire, so I will spend the next 12 months blogging about retirement, sharing the lessons I learn and the fun I have each day. Please join me as I share my adventures on Old Teacher, New Lessons because our family has many changes over the next year.

P.S. Yes, I got teary-eyed writing this.