Purifying

Waved sister off early and back into the resources room! A few more boxes and I was at the paperwork - files and files of it. All completely unnecessary now ( most of it always was!) so out for recycling! Unfortunately lots were in plastic wallets which meant a long time in the conservatory taking them out! Plus what to do with laminated sheets? Decided to burn them on the allotment along with paperwork with childrens names and details. I came across a bag of photographs of the children from classes in my first, second, third and fourth  school! Oh that was a trip down memory lane. So sad to realise so many of the children are now dead.
 Each item in the room reminds me of good times with children and staff and such fun lessons - all vividly brought to mind. Once into the paperwork I felt relief that all the nonsensical bureaucracy that teaching became in my last years  could be set free to be recycled into...who knows what?! Anything will be an improvement on their original form! I had schemes of work and lesson plans, mostly sensory drama, which it was sad to let go of. I so wish I  could have given these and the resources that went with them including Powerpoints full of photos, songs, animated gifs and sounds, to the teacher who took over from me. But sadly I knew she had no PMLD experience and by all accounts from her care assistants was a lazy woman. What I did leave I saw her remove from the class in the last 2 weeks. I was no longer their teacher as we used to change to the Autumn classes in the last of the summer term - another bit of madness! 
So come 7.30 off to the allotment to put the girls to bed and start my fire. By 10.30 it had all gone up in flames along with dead stuff from the plot. Finally letting go of the past and moving on unburdened by the negativity the last years of teaching had given me. I realised I had started the day caught by the light in my bath and had ended it with fire - both purifying elements. My present and my future stretches ahead for who knows how long - but I can finally look ahead feeling positive.