The End is in Sight
Memorial Day weekend is approaching and that means one thing to parents across the USA: school is almost over.
Every year I get so excited when school draws to a close. No more early mornings! No more homework! No more signing planners, creating projects, finding notebooks, signing permissions slips, pretending I didn't see my kid's school on the caller ID... but I digress. And then I get equally excited when school starts up again in the fall. New planners! New projects! New notebooks! Fresh and timely permission slips! Eagerly answering calls from school... kidding.
It seems there is always a need for a sense of freshness and newness. In the drudgery, we need a fresh shot at vacation. After a prolonged vacation, we need a fresh shot at routine and schedule. As humans we always crave something new and interesting.
This is one of the the reasons I love living in Cleveland (Cavs nail-biters are not necessarily one of them). I love having four distinct seasons. Now, I certainly like some better than others - ahem, winter - and some seem to overstay their welcome - ahem, winter, again - but as a rule, as I'm getting bored of one season, things begin to change and a new wind blows with a new season.
I have certainly, like every Clevelander, asked myself "wait, why do I live here?" every winter, followed by a detailed fantasy of moving to California. But when I think about it a little harder I realize that the changing of the seasons is part of what I love most about northeast Ohio.
I think there is a message here for maintaining freshness about our lives in other areas too. The Shema prayer asks us to keep its lessons that are being taught "today" on our hearts and minds. But the lessons aren't taught "today" - they were taught at Sinai, thousands of years ago. We are taught, then, that one should try to keep its lessons fresh and novel - as though they are a new spring blooming; the first snow; the first cookout of the summer. Just as though they were indeed being taught today for the first time.
The novelty of school ending; the novelty of school starting. The passing of the seasons; the cycle of the holidays. The birthdays of each family member; the graduations and weddings. Each is an opportunity to reflect and be overcome by a sense of freshness and newness. As funny as us human beings are, and as much as each year we are amazed anew at each recurring change, we can harness that sense for our good. Enjoy it. Use it for reflection.
And delete the school's number from your caller ID. Just for awhile.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ruchi
