AJ and a LATTE

I have a confession…I am a serial googler.  When we begin a series on tv or I am reading a book, I always google to make sure the end is something I can handle.  I cannot stand dystopian fiction because it doesn’t end right for me. In the old movie Turner and Hooch, (spoiler alert) I am glad there are puppies, but that doesn’t make up for Hooch’s loss!  TV series that just end or that kill off the main character…NO THANK YOU!  I would rather not watch something than to experience a distasteful ending.  

Today, Spouse and I are helping some friends pack. Distasteful ending! I couldn’t google to find out they wouldn’t be here forever. What a drag… but as I rocked in my solitude this morning I thought about the excitement on the other end of the move. They are going into a new house that will most definitely become a home. They both have exciting new jobs that are totally different from the areas of burn-out they were experiencing before.  They are closer to family. What a great new beginning to the next part of their story!  There is a reboot that will happen–a mulligan, a do-over. They are getting to write their own, new “Once upon a time.”  Their story isn’t ending! In fact, it is just beginning.  It is just a chapter that is coming to a close.

This summer has been spectacular.  I have learned so much about myself.  From finally getting a long awaited answer through a diagnosis to realizing my soul is not ready to retire, I see my summer rolling to a close.  But the summer isn’t the end of the book.  It is just a new beginning of a school year that I will create. I will determine what is on each new page.  It is up to me how I do that. There is not google search to tell me what kind of year it will be.  We have so many changes coming at us this year from spring four day weeks to nine-week grading periods. Even with these changes, I determine whether it will be a good year, a good semester, a good week, a good day by my perspective, my attitude.  Am I going to allow God to copilot or am I going to allow Him to take the wheel?  Do I let Him ghost write or do I hand Him the pen?  Do I mourn the conclusion or do I embrace my new Once Upon a Time?  This is true of every single day, not just the end of summer freedom. My attitude, my gratitude, my willingness to step back and let God lead my day is a moment by moment decision.

As I came out to write this post it was going to be a tribute to friendship and the changes that time brings.  When I approached my chair I saw a lovely little feather in my seat.**  I paused to water my struggling little lavender plant that the heat is ravaging another perfect white feather (not matching the first) lay in the pot. Those gifts reminded me that life doesn’t end, it takes the next beautiful Once Upon a Time. A new chapter begins that doesn’t have a google ending. Each chapter on its own is a fabulous story but strung together they create the novel of our lives.  Today as we help our friends, I choose to celebrate the chapter that is closing and put the energy of my distaste for the ending into the joy of their new Once Upon a Time.  Our relationship isn’t ending; it is shifting. Their home will now become the beginning of so many new memories for a new family. Their new adventure will give them stories to regale as we visit in the future. 

The sun is slowly illuminating the sky and soon it will be a scorcher, but I must choose today’s “Once Upon a Time.”  Will I make it a story of going through motions to help friends knowing things will never be quite the same, or will I make it a story of friendship serving and loving together as they close a chapter and begin a new one? Will I mourn their moving or will I try to ease the shock of change by asking for stories of treasures as I help pack? None of us are guaranteed a perfect earthly “happily ever after,” but this isn’t the end of the novel. In fact, it is an opportunity for a new “once upon a time.”  

Today, I choose a story of hope and joy. There will be tears, but may they be laced with the love of friends and anticipation for beautiful tomorrows.

Until next time…

***Feathers have been a symbol for my family of loved ones who have gone before us to be with the Father. Growing up my Paw was a kind, gentle man who was loved by many. I heard he was a real stinker in his earlier years, but this is my story and I get to see him as I remember.  Upon the death of my maternal great-grandmother, six months later my maternal grandmother, then a couple of years later the loss of my Paw, feathers were found in each of our cars. Through any hard, devastating, or purely joyous time, feathers have played an important role. I believe the term is GodWinks.  He allows me to smile knowing it’s all going to be okay.  I hope God gives each reader his or her own feather experience to feel the love of those who have gone before and the love of a Father who knows just when a feather is needed.