Emotions and feelings and long weeks and we just need to be finished

I can't believe it isn't yet Friday.  I am beyond exhausted, and I am completely drained.  I'll be spending the next week helping my sister and aunt make some decisions about the next stage of my grandmother's life.  Every thought about it brings tears.  Not only is she my last surviving grandparent, but she is a link to my dad.  It makes me emotional.

Today, I sat with a young student who just cried and cried because her teacher told the class that she (the teacher) was moving on to a new school next year.  Because we are a Montessori school where multiple grades are in one class and this particular teacher had changed assignments at school, Ruth had always been in a class with the teacher.  The fact that the teacher was leaving was so heartbreaking to Ruth.  I sat with her on the bench waiting for her dad to arrive.  I rubbed her back and put my arm around her.  Given my emotional state, I was fighting tears myself.  Her heartbreak broke my heart.

I've also sat with Thomas tonight as his heart broke over the vehicle.  The car we purchased for the kids 4-1/2 years ago might be kaput.  Thomas is so, so upset about it.  Andrew thought he had lost his mind, but I get it.  I get him.  Our hearts get us attached to things, and I know it doesn't make sense, but it happens.

We need to be finished with this week, and we so need to be finished with this school year.  EVERYTHING about this school year has been hard.  It was hard for Andrew and Thomas to begin the year remotely.  It was hard when school went in person, but Andrew was still teaching the remote students.  It was hard for Catherine to have her first year of college be almost completely online.  Not only was it hard for her to navigate her classes, but she couldn't meet people.  Although a blessing, it has been hard to navigate working full time for the first time as a parent.  Even though my children are almost completely grown, being a mom is still the most important job I'll ever have.  We need this school year to be finished.

Only about 18 hours until the weekend begins.  Fourteen school days left for me (although I will work all summer, it has more flexibility), fifteen for Thomas, and sixteen for Andrew.  We'll get there, and we'll all be okay.