Last Friday In Texas

This was a week of "one last time" for me.  Some of them were one last time before I leave & others were one last time for good.  My emotions have definitely taken me on a roller coaster ride.  I'll tell you one thing, it should not be allowed for one to leave their job, move (even if temporarily), & have PMS all in the same week.

One

If you are ever in Fort Worth you NEED to go to Ol South Pancake House.  Beyond that you NEED to order a skillet.  It's biscuits, gravy, cheese, & your choice of toppings (I got bacon & sausage...Mr. Midwest got chorizo & sausage.)  My friend Emily & I randomly went one time back at the beginning of the year when we thought it was wise to go out EVERY Thursday & shut down the bar even though we still had work (& no break no less) on Fridays.  We had met a couple of guys & they suggested we all go there after bar close.  Once I met Mr. Midwest I made him go there & when my parents came to visit I made them go too.  I knew that I needed to go again before I leave because while I don't know where I'll be living 100% when I come back, I know it won't be nearly as close to there as I am now.  Also, the hot chocolate...get that... They add whipped cream to the top so high it doubles the height of it.

Two

As I mentioned above, back at the beginning of the year Emily & I thought it was a brilliant idea to frequent The Stockyards every Thursday night.  Specifically Star Cafe for supper (steak salad, medium rare, shit ton of ranch dressing) & The White Elephant.  So since I'm leaving soon & we hadn't been in FOREVER we decided to go out one last time (but to be adults about it & leave by 10 because we still had work the next day after all.)  I love the Stockyards & I definitely didn't take near enough advantage living so close (my wallet & responsibilities got in the way #AdultLife)

Three

As teachers our last day was yesterday.  We had a closing checklist to complete before we could leave.  I, along with multiple people, had our checklists done by 11, we weren't allowed to get in line for our final signatures until 1... so a little before noon a group of us went out to lunch until a little after 1.  When we got back I got my sheet signed & then started saying goodbye to people.  I think I only REALLY said an official goodbye to like 4 people.  There were more I would have liked to say goodbye to but I was barely able to keep it together that long.  Pretty much the second I got out to my car I started bawling.  Had I stayed in there trying to find more people & saying more goodbyes I definitely would have lost it in the building.  One of my best friends came from my first teaching jobs, we had good happy hour groups & I had fun people to hang out with.  Not once in my 3 years did I have teacher friends like I did this year.  We had conference periods together, we had lunches together, some of us were in the same hallway together, we coached together.  The sad part is that even if I stayed, 99% of them aren't returning either.  #ThankGodForFacebook

Four

What I planned to do Thursday when I left work was go to my storage unit to drop off the stuff from my classroom.  In my emotional teary state, & out of habit, I started driving the opposite direction towards home though.  So instead, I decided to get a manicure at what quickly became my favorite nail place.  Before this place I was NOT a girl that got regular manicures or pedicures.  In fact I could probably definitely count on one hand the number of times I'd had both done combined in my entire life up until I started going there.  I did opt out of a pedicure because like I mentioned on Monday, I stabbed my foot with my belt buckle & figured I should still wait a little longer before I get a pedicure done.

Five

Wednesday was the kids' last day.  There are certain kids that I am going to miss so much!  The top of my list are the girls that I had in both basketball & softball.  I never had a single one in class but I'll miss them more than anyone.  Another kid that I'll really miss is a girl that I only had for a semester in an advisory/study hall period but she came to my room all the time 2nd semester as well.  I had 7 different girls in my room off & on all day during random periods.  Two of them are juniors & already asked if I'd come back for their senior robing ceremony next year to robe them.  One of them (the one in the picture) recently got engaged & already told me that I was the only teacher that she was inviting to her wedding.  One of the freshmen girls had been crying "don't leave me" to me since she found out I was leaving.  THOSE are the kids that are hard to leave.  I did promise to attend as many of their games next year as I could though.