
September includes back-to-school activities for people around the country, with enthusiasm (and apprehension) usually high as students, parents, staff, and teachers begin a new year. Mine peaked this summer when my husband took me back where I started kindergarten in Springfield, Ohio. I was filled with a myriad of memories stepping on the grounds, exactly in the spot a school bus once dropped me off. Walking into the building brought back the child-long-forgotten in me. My recollection of people and activities flooded hallways and rooms as we peaked inside. Doug's job was to photograph the unforgettable and historic milestones from my past, while listening as I reminisced ~ and I barely stopped to breathe. In minutes, we covered my very first day at school to saying goodbye to a favorite second grade teacher when we moved. Sitting alone at a long table in the lunchroom brought tears. A quick picture of kids playing on the playground . . . and we were gone.
Those were precious moments. The lessons I've learned from life since early grade school are even more spectacular. Funny how the most interesting are seldom the most important. We struggle with looking back at the past too much, forgetting to savor the present, and hopelessly dreaming about tomorrow with no plan for action. "If we could see beyond today as God can see," is a song on my lips quite often. In reality, I just need to get out an old book He wrote and start reading.