Some of us may be dealing with more serious endings. Perhaps the end of a job. Perhaps the end of a marriage. Endings suck sometimes, don’t they?
I am winding down my last year of involvement at my son’s school (as he’s moving onto the next grade level at a new school) and I’m so sad to see this era of my life end. I’ve been at that school for six years. Six! I started out there years ago when my oldest daughter started Kindergarten. I know the teachers and the Principal. I’ve gone to all of the family nights and movie nights and participated in fund raisers…and now, I'm suddenly done. My time there is up and I'm no longer a part of that great school. (Sigh.) It’s sad. A chapter in my children’s book of youth, finished.
School’s out for a lot of kids…the end of a school year for them...the end of a grade. Sad. Sad. Sad.
Thinking about endings for school we might wonder, did we learn enough? Will we remember all the great things that happened? We’ll miss that favorite teacher. We’ll miss the routine of the past year. For books and T.V. shows, we’ll miss reading about our favorite characters and crazy plots they get involved in. We’ll miss seeing our favorite stars say our favorite lines. For more serious endings, perhaps we’ll miss our paycheck or our co-workers, or security and stability. There are a lot of things to be sad about when things end.
But you know what? There is one good thing about an ending...it means there can be a beginning. The beginning of summer. The beginning of a new relationship. An opportunity for a new, inspiring job. The beginning of a new book. The beginning of a new favorite T.V. series. It’s the circle of life… things end so that new things can begin. I recently finished a book by one of my favorite authors, Mary Janice Davidson. I didn’t want the book to end. But guess what? The next book comes out in July! The school year has ended, but summer is beginning! And with that, I can look forward to my new book coming out!
Embrace the endings even though they are sometimes really sad. It only means that a new beginning and the potential for new joy is right around the corner for you! Sometimes, I really love the endings. I love the end of a run. Coming up on that last half-mile, knowing I'm almost done with my workout...it's excellent! I get a surge of energy like no other when I'm coming up to the "finish line" so to speak. And if I've had a crappy run and I'm tired and performed poorly, the ending is that much sweeter. And when I have those kinds of runs, I especially look forward to a new beginning...another day to run when everything will feel great and I'll run faster or farther than I could before. It's a chance for redemption. Endings don't always suck. It allows us to experience both ends of the emotional spectrum. Have you ever heard that you can't have heads without tails? Day without night? The good thing about endings...a new beginning always follows it.
Yes, a lot of endings are sad. But don't get down for too long...a new beginning can hold some unexpected and wonderful surprises for us. Look forward to the endings...then begin again.
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