Abrupt endings and having to let go.

I've been teaching pretty much full time (even though my official designation is temporary part-time) since 2004. I average about 200 students every semester. So if you do the math that's close to 1600 students I've lectured, graded, and advised. What's my point? You'd think after saying hello and goodbye to that many students that I'd get better at it. But I'm not. Granted the bulk of those students I wouldn't recognize if I saw them on the street, but every semester there are a handful of students that I truly connect with. This semester has been unusual. The students have been more needy, a little more vulnerable. There have been times when I felt like I was back in private practice, counseling them on topics such as suicidal depression, non-existent self worth, loss of a parent, substance abuse, and abandonment. It is quite an honor to be trusted with such weighty issues. I have grown to care about these students as they have entrusted me with the intimate details of their lives and it is difficult to let go, knowing that for some I may never see them again, while others may only occasionally drop by my office to say hi. Bottom line is, things will never be the same. We come together for 16 weeks. We get to know each other, trust each other, share with each other, and then it's over. It is all rather jarring. One minute everyone is in the heat of tying up the loose ends of the semester and then suddenly it's all over. Everyone picks up and leaves. I have been able to keep in touch with a few of my past students, occasionally meeting one of them for lunch or I'll receive semi-regular email updates. Even though that is very nice, I have to admit that it just isn't the same.