All Good Things Must Come to an End

Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Because I was camping with the pastor I didn't steal a lily pad for my pond

When you camp with an engineer you get very level pancakes 

Girls in Nature

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Including camping trips.
And summer.
And sabbaticals.

It's one of those perfect first days of school here in Minnesota.  The temperature was fifty and the sunshine was bright.

Seventh Grade

Third Grade

As I dropped the kids off the song on the radio was playing "this is the first. . . day. . . of the rest of your life. . . "
I love new starts.
I love routine.
I love crisp Fall weather.
I love that moment when I drop the last child at school after three months of 24/7.
A tear runs down your eye as you do cartwheels through the door.

I love how just when I've had about enough of the garden the season turns and I'm ready for pencils and music books and practice journals. I'm ready for fires in the evening and maybe even a batch of chili.

I'm starting three new families with three four-year-olds and a seven-year-old. I'm so excited. Brand new little faces. They have big shoes to fill.

I love making practice books and setting recital dates and buying a couple more four color pens than I really need. Paper and cardstock and stickers. New music.

Calvin and I sat at the piano at 6:15 a.m. for the first time in a month. Mary will practice tonight. 

I'm going to head upstairs and practice for choir on Wednesday--another fresh start. Then I'm going to go for a long walk all by myself. This week I'll start lesson plans and new parent orientation.

I love it all. I guess truly everyday and every moment is a chance at a new beginning. All good things must come to an end. . . but that gives us the blessing of fresh starts.

I'm so thankful for that. God bless all the children and the teachers and the parents and the piano kids--the new ones and the old ones! God bless all our fresh starts and new beginnings. Amen.