Last Greenhill Luncheon

just this week
i was at my last Greenhill Parents Association Luncheon
i saw with friends
who say they will miss me
and i think they will
and i saw old friends
some spoke
others didn't
i saw some administration
who totally ignored me

which is sad
but is the truth
they won't miss me
or my girls
after all these years
i will be gone from this institution

a place i worked
a place i respected
a place i trusted
a place i let my children run free
a place i thought was safe

it was
yes it was
i felt safe there
i felt my children were safe there

but
now
all of that has changed
and
the saddest thing of all
is that many just don't care
they only see who is still there
who will put up with this sh*t
who will believe that it is their ticket to a "good" school

we now know
that a "good" school is not always what others think
the best school for one child
may not be the best for another

we also know
that our children should feel good about themselves
they don't need to forsake sleep for studying
they don't need to give up friends for books
they should have a life
that involves going to school
AND being able to play

we want our daughters to enjoy
this time
it is short
and should be fun

go to school
live life
make friends
make memories
laugh
smile

there wasn't much smiling today
or so it seemed
everyone was trying to impress one person or another
where their child was attending college
or a summer program
or grades

i tried my best to stay out of those conversations
because
i know what is important