Oh, I am getting teary-eyed (no, it’s not because I’m pregnant and a gazillion hormones are coursing through my body). It’s because the first crop of third graders I taught in Franklin, Louisiana (a small, rural town two hours away from New Orleans and one hour away from Lafayette) just graduated from high school.

I got this message from one of my former students:

hey ms cotner,

I’m just trying to keep you informed with how I’m doing. I am officially a grown up now. i graduated number nine in my class and that’s something that I’m very proud of. I’m currently in summer school at Louisiana State University. I’m

The view from our bungalow to the house across the street

Matt and I have only lived in our humble bungalow for two years. In that time, people have come and gone in the rental house across the street. We were really good friends with the first family that lived there. We went to their birthday parties, we talked on our porches, we cooked S’mores together.

And then they moved. We were heartbroken but not discouraged. We attempted to make friends with the new neighbors. They were young and interesting. We walked our dog with theirs. We invited them to our monthly potlucks.

And then they broke up. In an