So, this is the time of year when the "back to school" rush begins. Time for note books, and backpacks, pens, pencils, erasers, loose leaf and binders.
My grandson, Ethan, begins Kindergarten in a couple of weeks, the first step in his academic career. Brave and excited, eager and confident, I wish I could say the same for his Mom. She is having a bit of anxiety about the whole thing, as most of us did, or do, when sending our little ones out to experience their first taste of real independence.
What will "the world" do to our poor babies?
It kind of boils down to this. They will have good days, and bad days. There will be others who treat them well, there will be others who won't. They will get along famously with some, and some they won't.
This is where, as mothers, we have to take a deep breath and realize, not everyone in the world will be as madly in love with our children as we are, and that's ok. Not everyone will think all of their little idiosyncrasies are adorable, or laugh at their every joke. They won't be the best in their class in every subject, they will probably struggle with a few things, as time goes on, and that's ok.
This is where we start giving them the tools to deal with "life." This is where we teach them how to like themselves, even if not everyone else does. This is where we begin with what matters in earnest. This is where we take what we've been teaching them thus far, and do more. This is where we teach them that it's ok if you're not "the best" as long as you did your best. This is where we help them to find their unique talents, their way of learning, their own way to see the world, and teach them that that is ok.
Having a strong arsenal of tools is what every child needs, as they grow up and begin to build their life.
This week was filled with life.
A customer came in, a recent widower, and was telling us how camping just isn't as fun anymore. How he might not want to do it anymore, might want to sell his camper. The sadness that lives in his eyes tells the tale of a life spent well together. The good times that he is trying to recapture with a vital part missing.
I found out I am going to be a Great Auntie again! My niece and her hubby are expecting their first baby! It was so exciting to see the joy spreading across Facebook like a wildfire!
We found out another little nephew is going to be dealing with some pretty significant health issues, for which there doesn't seem to be a single easy path for help.
And today, I found out that one of my cousins lost a child to the terrible disease of addiction. I can't even wrap my head around the kind of grief that would grip your soul at a time like this. Here was a boy, bright and talented. He was good in school, and was excited about the start of his senior year in high school. He struggled with addiction for a couple of years and lost the war.
The evil seduction of addiction took hold of his angelic soul and hung on, hard. What probably started as what was perceived as harmless experimentation, ended in a tragedy that will ripple beyond anything we can know. We will never know what could have been. We will never know the man this boy would have become. The things he would have been capable of, the mark he would have made on this world. All we can know is the imprint his heart made in the short time he had on this earth, hold on to the love he left behind, and tell his story to try and keep it from repeating.
So tonight, it will be time to try and set this sadness aside, and do our show in Luseland.
Making other people happy definitely helps lift ones own spirits, for sure.
Until next time, with loved ones in mind, I'll leave you with this wish..........
May the angels greet his soul even before it takes flight.
May they hold him close, with all of their might.
May he be finally free of the weights that dragged on his soul.
May he be enveloped by the peace that was robbed him by this foe.
May you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other, and continue to breathe,
May you fight beyond the grip of this grief, continue, live, in time the shock may ease.
May you lean heavily on those who love you, we are strong, feel it, even through the miles that divide.
May you know we are there for every sadness felt, every tear cried.
Until next time.........
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