Celebration on Lawn

Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” Although I have shed many tears since finding out that WHCA was closing and since our last day of school, I will always smile because it happened. We had a Celebration on the Lawn the first weekend in May to celebrate all that WHCA has meant to everyone. I was reminded of the many reasons I have to smile. First of all, the students whom I have taught over the past 11 years will always make me smile and on Saturday, I got to see so many of their faces. I was thrilled to see so many former Eagles. Adam and Nick Oden, Clark Beckham, Emily Williams, Kale Nash, Raleigh Brooks, Casey Tomes, Sydney Henry, Travis Batista, Nick Garner, Kristen Wagahoff, Cameron Berry, Daniel Anderson, and Anthony Nelson all came back to play alongside many of our current Eagles in a soccer game. I also saw several other former Eagles such as Blake Collins, Bradley Edwards, Charli Bray, Matt Korfhage, Taylor Bennett, Keah Duley, and one of the twins (I never could tell them apart) who had come to cheer on their beloved Eagles. I enjoyed seeing all of our students past and present laughing together and enjoying the day. All of these students will always hold a special place in my heart. Because of them, I have laughed A LOT and learned a lot. They have all made me a better person. Secondly, I was reminded just how wonderful our WHCA parents are. The parents of WHCA definitely “let their lights shine before men.” Karen Ballentine, Julie Balthrop, and Christi and Shawn Everingham once again stepped up to help make this a great day by organizing a bake sale and by helping with concessions. I And as always, many of our parents helped behind the scenes by making yummy goodies for our bake sale. Thirdly, I have been blessed through the years to work with talented people who care deeply about their students and their school. Each current faculty and staff member at WHCA stepped up to help on Saturday (Mrs. Rose even played in the soccer game); this event couldn’t have been possible without each of them. A few former faculty members even came back to celebrate with us. Larry and Joni Nesbitt, JT and Jana Thomas, and Christy Brown came to see everyone, and we were all glad to see them.

All in all, it was a great day, and it gave me many reasons to smile. My boys had a great time jumping on inflatables ALL DAY, and I do mean all day. I even enjoyed sitting in the COLD watching Horton Hears a Who on the lawn with so many of our Eagles and snuggling withe Landon. I have so many reasons to smile as I look back over the last 11 years of my life.