Summer is ending and a new chapter starts. It is the beginning of a new school
year. For two of my grandkids, it is a
huge step. No longer are they walking in the front door of an elementary school
as the littlest kids in the hallway. Nope, they are not kindergartens
anymore.
School is back in session and they are in the big league
now, first grade. There is no looking
back. Now school lasts a whole day, no break, all subjects are covered and
coloring pages are few and far between.
Sooner rather than later, they will find those dreaded pages to be ones
they miss. Now, days will be compounded
with spelling quizzes, reading comprehension, math tables and homework
projects. But they will also learn and
grow leaps and bounds as their young minds develop beyond where their parents
even envisioned them being in one year.
Also, in another town, far away from where I live, I saw
pictures of a cute little girl, through the wonders of Facebook! She was embarking on a bus ride to
kindergarten I presume, looking as pretty as her mom and not showing an ounce
of fear. Maybe having her male buddy, my
grandson, at her side helped. They both were all smiles lighting up the picture
as their parents took turns posing with them on that first day. She looked more
than ready for the lesson plans ahead. I
doubt her experiences in the classroom will do anything but build her
confidence level in her ability to do anything in life she wants to do. I hope that attitude will make my grandson love
school as much as her!
My other grandson headed towards big boy preschool. He had
no idea that now he was going with non-autistic children. See, labeling is not
something our family really believes in.
People are people, period. God
doesn’t label individuals so why should we?
Autism is a diagnosis of sorts, not a definition of a person. And this handsome dude is performing so well,
he is ready to be with other young children socially and academically just like
he did in one of his 2 day a week classes last year. So far, he is excelling and so well
behaved. Cheers to his future! He
surprises us every step of the way.
The other grandchildren, they are all thriving too. They
have enjoyed their summer and have each mastered new things and grown. Vocabulary for the little one has expanded,
as has his temperament. Would a child be normal if it hadn’t? And for the 5 year old, he has become even
more social and loveable. This is so refreshing
to see in a boy. Our other one in
Michigan we don’t hear as much about. His mom doesn’t keep us as informed as
the other moms but through Facebook we do see pictures from time to time and
looks happy. To us, that is what matters most, happy and loved!
Someone else who began a new chapter in life recently is a
woman in my family who married a high school sweetheart in Michigan a little
over a week ago, my cousin Bill’s daughter. Theirs was a relationship filled
with the usual turbulence everyone goes through, the ups and downs, on and off again
that make up real relationships. Who has the fairy tale beginning and ending
story to romance? Yeah, the Bachelor and
Bachelorette Show, ah, Reality check! Donnie and Donna are the real drama of a relationship.
They certainly had the culmination of a long time coming
resolution of a long courtship. The
wedding was beyond beautiful. It was
touching, was ceremonious and yet had love, laughter and was a blast too! All
in attendance would agree, the love that was felt at the wedding was simply
mesmerizing and carried over to the guests.
I have always considered myself a great judge of
character. I seem to have good intuition
too. Watching the bride and the groom
interact, I was struck by the camaraderie, the ease at which they moved together.
They seemed to move as one, such was the comfort level with each other. And I know God was smiling because their
daughter has a new beginning. Just after turning one, her mommy and daddy are
married now!
Even more poignant to me was the level of love you witnessed
at the reception in the groom and bride’s family. It was like watching a love-fest!
New chapters in our grandkids lives help us recognize that the
world keeps on turning and, as it does, our lives are changing too, in a good
way. When we attend a wedding, we see
the ending of one way of life for two single individuals and the start of a new
world opening up for the married couple.
Time changes things and, as it happens, so must we. It is a challenge we must accept.
In both instances, just like in many things in life,
beginning new chapters means picking and choosing what you leave behind. History can repeat itself if you do the same
thing you have always done. Wisdom is not doing so.
What got those children to the front door of the school or
the couple to the altar means far less than what they all do after they got
there. The same is true of all of us. What you did yesterday is not nearly as
important as what you do today. For
today is your new chapter. Make it a good one.
And remember, wonderful chapters are happening all around us; School is
starting, a marriage began today, a baby was born, someone resolved their
differences, a new job began, a child was adopted…
