… before my old schedule was up.
Did I freak any of you out? Talk about click bait.
But it WAS the last class for Blue Belt before he left for four years of optometry school out of state. There were lots of hugs, group or otherwise. Instructor, trying not to get teary-eyed, reminisced about Blue Belt’s first day, showing up in pajamas saying, “You teach Jiu-Jitsu?! Cool. I want to try it!”
Instructor said, “I knew he’d become a stud.”
Pirate bought him a farewell gift of one of the new green Jiu-Jitsu shirts, specific to our gym, so he won’t forget where he came from, I suppose.

It was sad losing a “family” member who was one of the earliest students since the gym’s founding in 2020. Surfer Dude, then Balloon Man, then Blue Belt have been there the longest.
But back to ME. I was sad too, okay?! It was my last class with the old 3-per-week schedule.
It was also a great class.