So summer is coming in waves at our house. Will graduated from pre-K last week, Evan finishes his morning out program tomorrow, and Anna has 2.5 weeks left (which she insists is not fair).
I hate the end of things - routines, good times, the familiar.
I feel the worst for Will. He is moving on from the school he has attended for three years, although he is looking forward to going to Anna's school. He is saying good-bye to beloved teachers, three best friends who will be moving away, and dear cousins who will be moving sometime.
Will dislikes change more than I. So far, he has only cried about missing his teachers. But we could hardly get him to go to sleep the night he graduated - he was so upset. I had to promise visits and keeping in touch and all.
It's a crazy, mobile world we have today, and I wish somehow I could insulate my kids from all the change that lurks about.
When I was in 6th grade, my family moved away from our neighborhood, relatives, and state - where I had always lived... Home. (It seemed strange to me to move away from home.) Prior to that, I can only recall maybe two other kids who had moved away from my school. People didn't move. There was a sense of continuity, community, history, roots. Sure, you can still find that in some small towns these days, but not so much in the population at large.
My kids already don't even have that nostalgia about our house. They see other pretty houses and ask if we can move there, or when we are going to move again (we moved across town three years ago).
So whatever. Things are different now, and it's both good and bad. "It is what it is," as Jon likes to say.
But it kinda gives me that homesick feeling that I had at the end of my college years, faced with the prospect of all my dearest friends scattering in different directions. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just move to the same place and always be together?
But we all follow our dreams or desires or plans. We go our separate ways. We move. We keep in touch. Things change. Life goes on. We fill our lives with Good-byes and Hellos.
2 comments:
The constant mobility of our society is something Jeff and I have given a lot of thought to in the context of our homechurch. I do think that real Biblical community takes years to develop and is often not possible in our society unless people are willing to make a conscious commitment to a physical community rather than moving constantly to pursue a better job or school or bigger house.
I am sorry for Will's poor tender heart
I believe you are right about Biblical community. Unfortunately, that is not where "our" priorities lie. We are far more independent and self-focused rather than community-focused.
I'm sure Will will "toughen up" as he gets older - a bittersweet development of its own.
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