In the face of the storm

As most of you know, I took some time off after my hospital stay in April. Our doctor had suggested the rest of the year however I had other plans and promptly let him know that didn't work for me! I started back on half days for about a week and a half and then back to full days. It was tough at first, but each day I have 23 pairs of eyes looking at me and that is better than any injection or pill that they could ask me to take. When I am with my students I don't have to think about the fact that I can't feel my arm or that my leg feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. All I have to think about is what they need from me. 
This year has been special from the beginning. I looked at my roster and realized that out of 22 kids, I had already had 17 of them in 2nd grade.  That was just in my homeroom.  I already knew these kids! I guess that is where the part about things happening for a reason comes in, early in the year, when we knew something wasn't right with me, I knew that this group was going to pull together with me.  We overcame my initial diagnosis and my short little hospital stay and we were raring to go to finish out the school year. Then we were hit with tragedy again. On May 16, there was a bus accident involving 1st and 2nd grade students who were on an A.R. trip. We lost a student during that accident and had several others including teachers injured. Stress magnifies my symptoms and makes me feel worse in general. I could have taken the rest of the week off to stay rested but I knew in my heart that my students needed me to explain this and make it ok for them. While it was physically and emotionally draining, I worked through that week drying tears and supporting my co-workers who were heros in the accident. 
I thought I was weak, I thought that  this disability might have gotten the best of me, but I realized over the past week that I am still the same girl that I was before who would spring into action to solve a crisis when needed and that was what my students needed.  I will miss this group when they move on in the fall.
And now, I promise to rest......in the summer!