Everything In Between …
Here’s a first, I’m actually going to use a quote attributed to Sandra Bullock’s character in the movie “Hope Floats.” “Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living.”
This is one of my wife Bridget’s and my favorite movies, and somehow, as I considered the quote, it resonated in more than just a few activities that took place this past week. To remain concise, I’ll focus on two specific programs that defined the scope of my week–the preK-grade three open houses at Crissey, Dorr and Holloway, and the Education Services Center of Lake Erie West’s annual “I Make a Difference” breakfast held at the historic Toledo Club in downtown Toledo.
The first involved families united at what is most likely the start of their educational journeys in the district, and the latter involved two students who are ending their journeys perched at the very pinnacle of their graduating class.
Having gone too long without the opportunity to open our buildings to visitors, just having the chance to host open houses again brought out the excitement that generates in large crowds.
Watching that excitement as students and families toured what will become their new school structure and learned additional details about our upcoming elementary school reconfigurations–well, it made “worth it” all the work we’ve been doing “in between” and over the last five years. These programs seemed to infuse a renewed sense of energy–an eagerness to complete these next few weeks and become refreshed in all the “new” that will greet the 2022-23 school year.
I caught myself the very next morning, as the “I Make a Difference” breakfast dishes were cleared, comparing what awaits our youngest students with all the experiences provided to Springfield High School valedictorian Ryan Fong and salutatorian Colin Hickman.
These two young men were preparing to address a crowd of fellow top scholars, parents and school administrators, and the teachers each had selected for making a significant difference in their lives. As I had hoped, both spoke of their chosen teachers with reverence and offered comments that certainly included hints of academics.
Yet, it was in both the tone and the words chosen by each of these incredibly bright young men that confirmed they will long remember the life-lessons that were modeled for them by teachers Jim Howe (Ryan) and Kristin Stanfill (Colin). Those lessons will last well beyond what they gleaned in our classrooms.
The 2021-22 school year has been a contrast–scary as the pandemic and its variants continued to force pivots; sad as we say goodbye to our graduating seniors–yet somehow, as the quote reminded me, the days in between have given us so much laughter and joy, and proved there is little that we can’t do when we join forces, focus and simply allow hope to float.
