Homeward Bound

The vision of the camper rolling down the dirt road, dust kicking up behind it, wind carrying that dust out over the alfalfa fields, as the cabin grows smaller and smaller is rather bitter sweet. With great care, we carefully tuck away our time from Utah this summer into the very essence of what makes us who we are as a family and who we are as individuals, draw the line and move forward into our next chapter.

On the road again, we have time to quietly process and absorb all our wonderful experiences, lessons learned and time shared together as this Utah summer comes to a close. There are endless memories to remember and cherish, yes that is true. And yet, really, it all just blends into who we are, impacts how we step forward into a new day and what we dream about for our future.

Benjamin woke this morning, in our bed, and looked up and out the window. I watched him quietly from the other room and then heard him say, “Aw YES!” He sat up, looked at me and smiled. I smiled in return and asked him why he had said that. He looked at me and said, with a smile, “because it is morning time”. May we all begin our days with such joy!

How do I sum up all that we have learned, the great love & joy we have felt, the adventures, the laughing, the fun, the freedom-the mystery of it all? So many wonderful things have been planted. Now we will happily watch them grow as those tiny seeds, so gently planted, begin to grow within who we are and become a part of how we see the world and ourselves.

At our school, each day begins with a morning verse~something beautiful spoken aloud to create an energy present within the classroom as well as each child-something deeper than what rides along the surface, a knock on the door that leads to that deeper, richer part of each of us. I will conclude with the morning verse used in the upper grades because it seems to capture the gifts Utah brings into our hearts, the shifting of our spirits and the renewed joy within our hearts.

I look out into the world

Wherein there shines the Sun

Where glimmer all the stars,

Where lie the silent stones

The plants that live and grow

The beasts that feel and move

Where man in soul creates

A dwelling for the spirit.

I look inward to the soul

That lives within my being

The spirit of God is weaving

In sunlight and in soul-life

In heights of world without

In depths of soul within.

Spirit of God to thee

I turn myself in seeking

That strength and grace and skill

For learning and for work

May live and grow in me.

~Rudolf Steiner

And so we begin another chapter....