Teacher gifts have been delivered, goodbyes were exchanged, and now the school folders and backpacks have been emptied. Summer is here! Another set of adventures awaits us as a family in the next few months, but I still cannot believe the year is over.
As I look at the artwork, class books and writer’s workshop stories, I have to admit that my heart aches a little.
How did it go by so quickly?
Did I appreciate it enough?
Did I notice all the growing and changing that was happening?
Each year speeds ahead and I hurt inside, even though I am simultaneously happy. It is confusing, this nostalgia: it reminds me of loss, but at the same time it highlights change and growth. I get tearful as I think back to an earlier time that can’t be recovered in exactly the same way, yet I am often smiling underneath the tears.
I’ve realized over time that this nostalgia is reminding me of something important. A little aching about the past is actually affirming that something was good and beautiful. Maybe it wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t appreciated at every moment, and yes, it went by too fast and will be missed.
Still, it was good and beautiful, and our lives are better because it was once there.
