I have never been one to embrace an ending. I always assumed I was this way because I couldn’t stand all the fuss. Weepy-eyed hugs, reflections of memories, promises that things won’t change–it’s too much of a stereotypical, expected behavior for me.
As a teacher, and once upon a time also a student, this time of year is the most prominent for endings. In my life, I can count on more than one hand endings that have occurred between the months of May and June: high school, college, life as a single lady, living at my parents’ home, jobs…
And here I sit with another new ending before me, and for the first time I find a subtle ache at the realization of this end. Though it has only been three months since I began this interim preschool teacher position, I have gained an understanding of life never experienced before simply by immersing myself into the world of a three-year-old.
Balanced against my heartache over losing the little ones who have impacted my life so, is the logic that has always gotten me through endings. Though many times I didn’t recognize it, it was always there. And while it may seem the simplest thought of all, it is how I bear the bittersweet endings that life throws my way.
Any ending is a new beginning disguised.
And though some endings come without request and sometimes with a little adjustment, like the end of a job or a move to a new location, somewhere lies the silver lining that any ending is the opportunity to embrace something new. It’s a new journey begging to be taken. A new world waiting to be explored. A dream waiting to be chased.
So here I go, with one more ending under my belt and a new beginning waiting patiently for me to grasp it.
Leave a Reply