Goodbye sucks

Tonight is my last group yoga class, at least for a while. I am both very sad and a bit relieved. I need a break, particularly with some of the things going on in my life right now. I have taught for seven years more or less without cessation and I'm tired. It is never easy for me to stand in front of a room full of people. I am basically a shy, introverted person who has to try really, really hard to command a room the way you must when teaching. But I worry that I am abandoning the students. Don't get me wrong, I have no illusions about my importance in the grand scheme of peoples' lives. I simply like being part of peoples' lives. I have inserted myself there and now am walking away. I know that the students will move on and find another teacher or teachers. But I still worry. Who will they find? Will she/he/they lead them down a good road? It is tempting to call them "my" students but they never belonged to me, or anyone else for that matter. That they floated into my classroom and my life is simply my good fortune. But I never had any claim on them, nor them on me. We have to accept that people pass in and out of our lives and treasure the time we were able to spend with them. And then we have to let them go. Of course, letting go is what I have tried to teach the students all along but it seems to be me who didn't learn the lesson well enough. Life is impermanent and thus so are relationships. This is what the Buddha taught. Of course, I wouldn't mind if one of the aforementioned students who don't belong to me was to find me on Facebook or shoot me an email sometime.