Congratulations are in order to all you educators out there (teachers, admins, food service staff, transportation staff, custodians, OT, PT, and speech therapy--everyone)! We made it! This past year was HARD and it's okay to admit that. I think we can all agree that it wasn't just hard on us professionally, but also on a personal level. Now, it's time for us to take a break, reset ourselves, and prepare for next school year (but not just yet!).
I am a pretty flexible, go-with-the-flow kind of girl....you have to be if you teach the littles! But, goodness did this year test my limits. From starting the school year virtually, to going in person for a month, back to virtual, trying out a hybrid schedule for a while, and then FINALLY my kiddos made it back to me the last couple months of school. Whew--what a roller coaster ride! The year proved to be anything but normal, and I am super proud of my students and their amazing parents. The pressure was on everyone this year and I was fortunate to be blessed with an amazing class with amazing family support. I just hope we never have to go through that again and look forward to a normal start to the upcoming school year. *fingers crossed*
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| Waylon and I sitting by the water |
Before I can even mentally think about another school year, I had to have a break though. I needed some downtime to reset myself and just relax. Thankfully, my family and I were able to find a nice beach house at one of the most relaxing beaches I have ever been to. My siblings and I gathered up our families and headed to Topsail Island, NC. I have been there a few times, so I knew what to expect, and a low key vacation was exactly what I needed.
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| Hanging out with my nephew Carter |
I spent a glorious week relaxing on the beach, enjoying the sand between my toes and the sound of the ocean waves. The kiddos had a blast building sandcastles, digging holes to bury themselves (and their parents😂), catching little fish in their buckets, and playing in the waves. For the most part, everyone was happy! I even got to celebrate my birthday (and my nephew's) while at the beach--so we enjoyed a lot of cake!
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| Happy Birthday to me! |
In the evenings, we hung out at the beach house, headed out to the little shops, and enjoyed dinner at some of the local restaurants. We also had LOTS of donuts from the most amazing donut place! The Fractured Prune makes delicious, hot, hand dipped donuts with any topping your heart desires. I have so many favorites, but this year I was totally loving the Pebble Beach donut topped with a delicious glaze and Fruity Pebbles! Mmmmmmm!
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| As you can see, I already took a bite out of the Pebble Beach Donut 😆 |
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| Waylon loves his shrimp and crab legs! |
All in all, it was a great week at the beach, which is definitely one of my happy places. Hopefully, you can find some time this summer to relax and unwind before it's time to get geared up for another school year. Just do what makes you happy-a pool day, beach trip, projects around the house, get a massage, quiet time to yourself, read a book....find time for yourself. Teacher self care is so important, so take some time to address that this summer and just enjoy the rest! Happy summer!
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