This Sunday I’ll be preaching my last sermon at Faithbridge Presbyterian church, strapping on my guitar to sing my last songs with the praise team, and saying my goodbyes to all the people who have been part of our lives for the past decade. Then Amy, Grady, Abby and I will climb into our incredibly gas-inefficient minivan, and leave Texas behind us for the distant spires of Princeton, New Jersey, where I’ll be attending seminary for the next three four five years.
Two Saturdays ago, I attended my last Sunset High School graduation — after the class of 2008, all the students I taught there are gone. It was bitersweet, as much has been over the past few weeks. Amy and the kids are in El Paso visiting her family, while I finish attempt to finish up some last things here. They’ll be back Saturday.
Sometime over the next month or two, I’ll also be saying goodbye to this blog, “Mr. Locke’s Classroom” at www.mrlocke.net. Well, sort of. Actually I’ll be migrating it to a new domain name, and all the old blog posts and pages will still be around. I will still always be a teacher — in fact, I just renewed my Texas teaching certificate for another six years — and I will certainly be a student in the years to come…but the whole “Mr. Locke” thing doesn’t make nearly as much sense as it did when I was in the classroom, and I think it would be fitting to retire it along with so many other parts of my life that I’ll be leaving behind in Texas.
In the meantime, I still hope to write a few things about our trip to New Jersey, our new apartment, and my adventures this summer studying Ancient Greek. Maybe post some long overdue pictures of Abby and Grady, too.
If you’re in town this Sunday, you’re more than welcome to come to Faithbridge and hear me preach (I still have no idea what the sermon will be, but I’m sure it will hit the wiki before it hits the congregation), join our family and our church for a farewell luncheon, and see us off into the blue yonder. Unless, of course, you’re Ginger and Rich, who just had a baby (Congratulations, and welcome to the world Jack!). But especially if you’ve shared some memories with us over the past decade in North Texas, come share a few more, one more time. If you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on your taste in music) I might even have copies of my folk album ready to give away.