I love back to school time of year. There’s just something about a the fresh boxes of pens, pencils, and paper, the big bins filled with folders decorated with cute kittens and puppies, stacks of spiral notes, and brand new erasers in all sorts of fun shapes.
But it’s more than just “new stuff” that makes me happy, it’s what it represents. A fresh start, unlimited potential, new opportunities for growth and learning.
It’s like the whole year is that spiral notebook. It’s totally empty, and we can create whatever kind of fresh, exciting story we want to fill its pages.
It might be a science story with new discoveries about circuits, transistors, and capacitors. It might be a business plan where the seeds of a new venture are written out for the first time. It might be a story about history (our own or someone else’s) where battles, regardless how small or large, were fought and lessons were learned. It might be a story about creativity itself — a short story…the very first short story you’ve ever written.
It’s all out there.
There have been no tears because the story problem problem just won’t work out right. There have been no arguments about which priority is the most pressing. There have been no kitchen disasters that began as glittering Pinterest dreams that transformed into stinky, charred remains with the smoke alarm announcing the failure in earshot.
So I’m taking a few moments to inhale the smell of just sharpened pencils and touch their pointy tips. I’m shopping during the week…when everyone else is at work and the aisles at Staples and Target aren’t full.I’m not fretting about what lies ahead.
I’m content to show myself a little grace and mercy, enjoying the mid-year new year.