The 2022-23 school is my 30th at Craig and 32nd in the Janesville Schools. I am at the point now where many of my former students are the parents of my current students. Recently, some of them looked up their parents in past yearbooks. They were delighted to see the younger versions of their moms and dads.

They also looked for me.

They found a 24-year-old tie-wearing teacher and debate coach with a full head of hair and a slimmer waist. To them, seeing their parents as high school students must feel like a million years ago. For me, it feels like yesterday.

I remember so much from my first year at Craig when I taught freshman English, the Class of ‘95. I remember Aaron Huber thumb-drumming on his desk because he could not sit still. I remember Nate Condon bringing a laptop computer to class. The thing was huge.

I remember Chad Glaser deciding as a freshman to make up his own dress up days for Homecoming week. One day he walked into class wearing a powder-blue leisure suit. “What’s the dress up day today, Chad?” I asked.

“Butt-ugly suit day,” he answered.

Those energetic and funny students are now grownups with children of their own. The time has flown, and so has this school year.

If anyone is like me, they will look back on the first days of this year and think it was five minutes ago. But what a year it has been!

We’ve made it through a Homecoming week and successful fall sports seasons. The musical “Chicago” was a success. Choir, orchestra, and band concerts have taken place. We’ve traded heat and humidity for ice and wind. The green grass is now covered in white.

The Packers season is more than half over. And now, winter break is here. I hope you take time over these coming days off to relax and enjoy the moments, because they go by fast!