Letting Go

Yes, I am a Walgreens Pharmacist so don’t ask me why I have three different pharmacies represented in this picture AND expired medication.  I can’t explain it.  

Sometimes a “last week of summer” looks exactly like you want it to like a lake trip and late afternoons at the pool and sometimes a "last week of summer” looks like a doctor’s office.  You are blindsided by a weird strand of a virus and end up in bed all week.  Sometimes your child with quite a head of hair gets a haircut before school starts and sometimes he doesn’t.  Sometimes the night before school starts, you feel your kids are ready, have all their supplies neatly tucked away in their backpacks and sometimes the night before school starts, you’re still in denial and have no idea what to put in the backpacks.  And sometimes when you drop them off that first day of school, there is a rush of relief, maybe a little party going on inside your head and sometimes you get back in the car and cry.  

With our most unpredictable week behind us, summer is officially over and school began this morning and no amount of wishing it away worked.  It’s almost time to pick them up.

I always love these first mornings of school because B has a belt on and his shoes are clean.  It won’t take long until he cannot find the belt anymore.  Trust me.  He will lose it and I cannot explain why or even begin to imagine where all the others are.  And I’ll be asking him for the $7 to pay me back for it all year.  Julia has her hair down but I’d put my Starbucks money on it being braided, in a messy bun or a pony tail when I pick her up.

Before I left the school, I decided to check on B’s class with all the wonderful boys and look who’s on the front row.  They could NOT quit giggling they were so happy.  Maybe in disbelief and laughter was the only thing that would come out.  I didn’t care I wasn’t Jack’s momma, but I walked straight to the front of the room, put my hand on both of their backs and threatened them with asparagus and beets for lunch everyday if they didn’t behave.  Mrs. Hartwell had already figured out this might not be her smartest move so I quietly told the boys, “Prove her wrong and make this work.”  Or beets and asparagus.   

I give it a week.  {That’s two days, people.}

I struggle with the fact I spent most of this last week of summer in the bed fighting a fever-- and a host of other things that nasty virus imposed on me.  I had visions of a different week and truly only let the LAST one go yesterday morning.  I was still holding out hope for one little bit of fun.  After my cry this morning once I dropped them off, I was able to sit down and read a bit.  I’ve been studying Colossians this summer-- slowly-- I know, it’s a short book-- and when I opened it up, my eyes went to this verse in chapter 3 and I’ll leave you with this-- just what I needed as my wheels were spinning into the week.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts....... {And if that weren’t enough...}

And be thankful. 

All I could say was, "Yes, Sir."