Ending a School Year and Measuring its Impact

The humor for me here is that I am finally able to process everything that happened last year and this year has already begun! It all culminated this last Friday when about ten girls from last year's class popped in to say hello. I miss them! I take for granted all the amazing interactions that happen in a class when a teacher really tries to make a one on one connection with each student. The results are amazing, but it isn't just results:
I have FIFTY-SIX people in my life from last year that mean the world to me. Each one of them brought something special to me, and I am not just saying that.
I miss seeing them daily. I miss their humor and struggles. I miss worrying about them and being able to impact them. I now worry that they make the transition from childhood to teenager to adult successfully. Most do, some struggle. I miss my time of being able to influence them daily towards successful adulthood. I have to believe they have people in their lives that will guide them along that path.
Ending a school year is always bitter sweet. It is nice to have the break, but there is always the realization that most likely these interactions with students won't ever be the same again: The inside jokes, the personal struggles and victories, the heartbreaking events in their lives. These are the things that make a school year. The instruction is lovely and fulfilling for me, but the connections and love I gain from being a teacher and mentor to these students is what it is all about.
You cannot measure it. You cannot replace it. It's a blessing in my life.
I have often thought about the path that led me to being a teacher. I can see the Lord's hand in it. He took my personality and some of my desires, and He put me in a position that would be the best for me. He will do that for anyone who wants it. He knew me better than I knew myself. This is my twelfth year and it just gets better. I'm grateful for the stretching that comes from this "job" (honestly, it feels more like a calling most of the time). I'm grateful that there are hundreds of kids that I can call my own and that I love.
Teaching definitely isn't about all the money I'm raking in, for me it's about trying to change a life, and sometimes save a life. Sometimes it's the life of a student, many times it is mine. Teaching success is measured  in more than just test scores. It is measured in love, time, tears and in people.
Lucky me!