Tomorrow is the wrap-up of the school year for me. Got my grades in around 9 o'clock Friday morning. Said goodbye to my homeroom that same morning. For me, student stuff for this year is pretty much over. Heck, next year has actually already started for me. Yesterday I met with the new class council AND met with a new co-advisor for another group that I'm a part of. Tonight I was supposed to have a "working dinner" with some students that, luckily, did not happen. Tomorrow is church then baccalaureate then a final student concert that I need to go to.

The sermon hasn't quite come together yet, which is a little scary. I've already been through two drafts, and I'm just not finding the right balance. Like I said, tomorrow is the wrap-up, and I want to say the right things well. It's a matter of making it personable, really. So I hope to sleep on it and see where the morning finds me.

I finished rereading Lewis's The Great Divorce a couple of days ago and finally sat down to pick out some of my favorite lines. Funny, I had totally forgotten what they were from the last time I'd read the book. My favorite is:

"The saying is almost too hard for us." (Narrator)
"Ah, but it's cruel not to say it. They that know have grown afraid to speak. That is why sorrows that used to purify now only fester."

So now it's The Weight of Glory. I suppose I'm waiting until I don't have to go to school at all to get back to Michael Chabon. . .

How easy it is to wander when we find the Kingdom cramped. Streets are dead-ends. People are close-to-crushed and weary from work. We take whatever reason comes our way to see what is outside the gate, beyond the hills. Breathe freely some kind of fresh air, take in the open spaces.

Perhaps the Kingdom includes more than some cramped plot of land full of crumpled and plodding people. Maybe the borders go a little ways beyond the torch light on the watchtower. Teach us, Lord, to think and imagine and see what is real and really there. Let us unfurl the banner of your Kingdom in beautiful and open places. Teach us to use our discontent wisely.

Last set of favorite quotes from Till We Have Faces can be found here. Be warned: the quotes might give away plot points.

My school year is now all but done. I have some final grading to do and a homeroom to keep for a few more days. Classes wrapped up yesterday with some last-minute talking and some game-playing. (I had to teach them a low-cost game before they become poor college students!)

Today was interesting. After homeroom, I worked on some financial records and requests for three different groups that I work with. I spent time tallying a run-off election. I tried to clean my desk(s). Then I made my way up to the senior area in order to get paperwork-owed from some students. It was a good time, actually, seeing them all mull about in the knowledge that it's all but over for them.

I've had some interesting moments these last couple of days that have reminded me of how great it has been to work with these seniors. Yesterday afternoon I got to walk with a student down to the lower parking area. It was a senior that I've worked with all year, and I think we have a pretty good working relationship: running jokes sprinkled throughout serious conversation and all. It was good to have what amounted to one last walk-and-talk, one last time just shooting the breeze.

I had plans during my afternoon non-class to visit a co-worker or two and catch up on some interesting news. That didn't happen because almost as soon as the bell rang, five seniors walked in with their lunches and proceeded to sit down and talk story. Saying it was a nice time is an understatament. Sure, they had no where else to go, and they knew that I'd be free. But still. We talked about past, present, and future. I found out about even more odd connections between students and their pasts. Even got a couple of hugs out of the conversation (hugs being a big deal for me). It's strange, really, feeling this connection with students I never thought I'd know. What a blessing they have been!

Tomorrow will come and most of them will probably not be around. So it's going to grow a lot quieter in my life at school. Types of conversation will change, perhaps feel diminished for a while. I'm not graduating, but part of me feels like it. And even though it's a sad thing, it's also a good feeling.

Finished my "first season" of 24 last night. I've heard great things about it for the last few years, but only this season did I take the chance on it. I'm amazed at all of the things they can pack into one 24-hour period! I know it's one of the weaker seasons; everyone has said so. There were even a couple of episodes that I missed totally and will probably never see. Still, it was good to watch. Had a little (one last?) gathering to watch the 2-hour finale over Papa John's Pizza, which was nice.

Jack Bauer. Interesting guy. That last scene was pretty interesting for him. Don't know what to make of it. I do, know, that I should be back for the next season. . . I mean, the next day.