Hope is a good thing

When I was a kid, I loved January and the start of a new year. As 10, 11, or 12 year-old, I loved having the day off from school and getting to watch college football. More than anything, I loved envisioning what new things were going to happen in the year. 

I felt the same way about September and the start of school. Oh, I never looked forward going to school and having to study after the summer break, I hated that part of it, but I still liked the social aspect of making new friends and having fun events show up on my calendar.

Once I got used to the new schedule or routine, I loved seeing what the new school year would bring. Safe to say, I love new beginnings. I love the anticipation and excitement. I suspect I I love new things, because they represent hope and change. We fight change, but change brings happiness too. 

With our youngest son graduating high school this year and our other two children out of the house and doing fun things with their lives, my life now is full of endings – graduations, celebrations for their hard work, and eventually them leaving home. With endings though come new beginnings. In many respects, I’m like the new kid standing in front of the class, but I’m ready. 

(I better be ready, because as hard as I try, there doesn’t seem to be a way of stopping it.)

I think a lot now about the Morgan Freeman line from the movie The Shawshenk Redemption. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” 

Here’s to the next step in the journey.