Brian and Ells: Last Day of Work :(

I turned in my maternity leave letter to my Principal on February 17th telling her that I would be starting my maternity leave on March 21st. Under FMLA I am allowed to have 12 weeks unpaid leave, but I was only going to be using 10 of those allotted weeks. Of course, my Principal was upset that I was leaving AT ALL and wasn't too terribly nice about the whole situation. In fact, she hasn't been the most pleasant person throughout my entire pregnancy. She is just all "business" and not really a "people person." She informed me that contracts for 2011-2012 would be coming out the very next day and that whatever I put on my contract was legally binding.

So I took my contract home and looked it over with Brian and my family. We had an entire week (Winter Break!) to make a decision. After MUCH thought, prayer and discussion, I turned my contract back into my Principal on February 28th along with a letter of resignation. I was TERRIFIED at how she would respond to it. 36 hours later, my Principal finally approached me and told me that she understood my decision and knew I would be so happy at home with my baby. She also went on to say what a great teacher I have been and how I was born to do this and whenever I decide to return to teaching she would "love to have me back." I, of course, had a total out of body experience. Up until this point, she has never said any words of affirmation to me and has been quite cold. Obviously, God knew that I needed a positive reaction from her and He gave it to me.

I proceeded to tell my 2nd grade team about my decision. We all broke down in tears and all the ladies told me what a great addition to the team I had been that year. They said they were so happy for me that I could stay at home with my baby but they were sad for themselves that I wouldn't be working with them anymore. I can't express enough how much I LOVE my 2nd grade team. They all took me under their wings and showed me the ropes. They spent COUNTLESS hours with me, answering my 1239408124 questions and giving me advice along the way. I have been SO very blessed to have them all by my side this year. They made my first year of teaching so enjoyable. I am going to miss them all VERY much!

My last day of school was March 18, 2011. I had sent out letters to all the parents informing them of my decision a few weeks prior and had gotten numerous emails and letters back from them saying how much they'd all miss me and how I had changed their child's life for the better. I can't tell you how MUCH it all meant to me. I thrive off of words of affirmation (my top love language is physical touch, but words of affirmation is a close second). Leading up until March 18th, the students would draw me pictures with frowny faces and write sweet notes telling me "please don't leave us." So sweet. My last day was great and the kids made it special. The morning routine was business as usual (spelling test, etc). I decided that I would make the afternoon a little more fun though.

We returned from lunch and I called up all the students who had prayer requests to the front of the room. Half the class said they needed to pray that day. So sweet Olivia (one of my students) opened up the prayer and then the kids went down the line, one-by-one, praying for certain things. Some of their requests were:
"Please be with Mrs. Hake and help her to be comfortable."
"Please be with Mr. Brian and help him to be a good dad."
"Please be with the doctors and help them to get the baby out safely."
"Please be with Mrs. Hake and help her to pick a good baby name."
I am always the one to close the prayers, so when it got down to my turn I started to thank God for the beautiful weather and then said, "I want to thank You for each and every student in here. I know that You placed them into my classroom and into my life for a reason..." And then I broke down COMPLETELY. It was the type of cry where you can't catch your breath. Thank goodness my parapro, Lisa, was in the room and she picked up where I left off. Of course, her prayer didn't make matters any better because she started thanking God for ME and all that I had done to change lives. As Lisa was praying, I started to hear sniffles around the room and I knew that some of the other students had started crying, too. After the prayer was over, I pulled myself together and wiped away my tears.

That afternoon was a lot of fun - filled with yummy snacks and fun games. The parents sent in BEAUTIFUL flowers and tons of gifts. The last thing we did was a Compliment Circle. I had each student write their name at the top of a piece of paper and we passed it around. Everyone had to write a compliment about that person on the paper. In the end, we got our own paper back with 20 compliments written. It was very sweet to see what everyone said about others and also to read my own. It is something I will keep forever.

The last thing I did, one minute before the bell rang, was announce Baby Hake's name to the class. They all got COMPLETELY silent (they have been waiting for this moment for months now, SO cute!) and then started a drum roll on their desks. I announced the name (which I will announce to the world later!) and they all cheered SO loudly. You would have thought they all just won the lottery. It was adorable.

I hugged them all goodbye one-by-one and told them that I loved them so very much. I got quite a few emails that night. One mom told me that Emily (one of my students) got out to the car at carpool and bawled the whole way home :(

It is such a great feeling to finally find out what you are supposed to do with your life. I found out this past year once I began teaching. I know that I was created to be a teacher. Although I complain a lot about being tired and being stressed, it is very fulfilling and I am so passionate about it. I had the most wonderful year, surrounded by great co-workers, and blessed with sweet students. I LOVE second grade. Although I am BEYOND thrilled to be a stay at home these next few years with Baby Hake (and other babies to come!), I am excited to one day return to teaching. But for now, I will pack it all away in storage...

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the year:

Mrs. Hake's first day of school - I was SO nervous (and apparently pregnant)!