A New Beginning

It is the time of year again when school children from all over are ready to start a new year.  Some children are thinking about such important ideas like which clothes they plan to wear to school on the first day.  While other children are thinking about how good the hot breakfast in the school cafeteria will taste because it has been a couple of months since they had that luxury.  In either case, children will become students again and will begin the life of socializing and studying.

Educators are also thinking about the start of a new year.  Rolling thoughts about getting to know a new set of students may be at the forefront of minds.  Teachers are wondering what the students will be like,  what their interests will be, or which ones need extra, extra love.  New curriculum and standards bring forth feelings of excitement and eagerness to begin. 

My childhood elementary school principal must have known about these thoughts, concerns and feelings from students and teachers.  He had a great way of bringing a calming spirit to the beginning of a new year.  Each first day of school, Mr. Osborne would read a poem during an assembly.

I came to my Teacher with quivering lips, my task undone.
Teacher, hast thou another sheet for me?  I have soiled this one.
He took the old sheet, stained and blotted,
And gave me a new one, clean and unspotted,
And into my sad heart smiled,
Do better this time my child.
I came to the Father with a trembling heart, the old year gone.
Father, hast thou another year for me?  I have soiled this one.
He took the old year stained and blotted,
And gave me a new one, clean and unspotted,
And into my glad heart smiled,
Do better this time my child.

I could understand even as a child that this poem meant that I could start over at the beginning of a new school year and do a better job than the previous year.  Through the years, I've come to learn that we each have that opportunity to reset not only after every year, but we can reset after every breath.

Now, take a deep breath, start over, and do better this time.