New Beginnings

What a difference a good night's sleep makes!

In the days leading up to yesterday's luncheon keynote,

I didn't sleep much. At all.

Too much rehearsing in my heart and in my mind.

So that it would all go well.

So that I would make my former district proud.

So that I would fire up their new teachers

and give a booster shot of inspiration to their mentors.

Since the event had a Broadway theme,

I dusted off my Elsa gown and took center stage.

My friend Melissa filmed it until the launch,

if you want to hear my encouragement to BE the MAGIC.

She stopped filming just as we were about to sing,

because it was the interactive part of the event.

Click {here} to feel that magic;

here are the lyrics you'll need to sing along.

I'm feeling so abundantly blessed right now;

it was, indeed, a beautiful and warm welcome to FISD.

It's a little melancholy to no longer be an active part of that magic

as the 2018-2019 school year started today without me.

So instead of putting on a new back-to-school outfit,

I laced up my shoes, dusted off my racquet,

 and scheduled a racquetball game with my son Joshua.

As I was playing, I found myself singing these Broadway songs.

Position ... position.

{I know, it's really called Tradition}

Like in life, it kind of matters where you are on the court

if you are going to effectively return the ball.

I found myself out of position a lot this morning.

I even got in the way of the ball once. Ouch.

My shot.

I threw away a lot of shots because I was going for the kill

instead of patiently waiting for the ball to come to me.

Patience is a virtue and not one that I'm very adept at ... yet.

Let it go.

I let a lot of shots go,

shots I'd have totally chased thirty years ago.

Then I'd get a tad bit frustrated, so I had to keep telling myself

let it go, let it go. It's just a game.

You can't show up after 30 years

and expect to play well.

You know, muscle memory and all.

Savor the moment and enjoy what it is.

It helped me a lot, actually, to sing through those songs

while I was trying desperately not to let Joshua skunk me.

Those few points I managed were well earned, for sure.

It was like going back to 1990-ish

and starting over again all at once

{if that even makes any sense}.

Without going back to school today,

I still got to experience a new beginning.

Time on the racquetball court with my son

remembering a sport I was decent at

way before he was born,

a long time ago,

in a totally different before-kids body,

in a very different single season in my life.

So here's to new beginnings.

I'll leave you with this incredible hand-drawn card

that a friend of mine sent my way this week

to remind me of the beautiful new beginnings ahead,

not only for those of us who won't be going back to school ...

but also for those of you who will.