As we think of our students graduating, there is a wide mixture of emotions. Happiness, sadness, exhilaration, hesitation, denial, optimism, pessimism, fear, and gratitude can all be a part of the process. Visiting with parents over the last few weeks after many events such as Senior Awards Night, Spring Revue, state golf tournament, and a band concert, led to some interesting reflection on the feelings of our parents as all our students go through transitions and major changes as they mature. As I dropped my youngest daughter off at Cedar Creek this morning, a thought entered my mind: we have all done this before…… The feelings we experience during transitions we have experienced before as parents: The first real bite of food the first steps of our babies the first tooth and loss of a tooth the first swim without arms underneath our kids the first bike ride the first words the first time with a babysitter the first drop off at kindergarten the first recital the first game the first day of middle school the first sleepover the first middle school dance the first loss of a loved one or pet the first day of high school the first drive behind the wheel……. During these events, we had to allow our kids to do something on their own. We had to allow them to step up to experience a new thing while we could only observe and watch. The kids, not us, stepped up to the edge and took on a new challenge or life event. No matter the age of your student, these changes bring up the same emotions. The main word I would use to describe my interactions lately has been assurance. Please rest assured that your children are ready for the next step - and so are you. You’ve done this before. Gary Allan is one of my favorite song writers and musicians. I occasionally have control of my music in my truck with my girls. And if I do, I attempt to share some of my tunes with them. A song that resonates with all of us is called Every Storm. Here is a line or two that always gets the Ramseys fired up: "Every storm runs, runs out of rain Just like every dark night turns into day Every heartache will fade away Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain So hold your head up and tell yourself that there's something more And walk out that door Go find a new rose, don't be afraid of the thorns 'Cause we all have thorns Just put your feet up to the edge, put your face in the wind And when you fall back down, keep on rememberin'…….." The girls love this visual of walking out to the edge and allowing yourself the freedom of the wind as you may experience a new event (obviously that’s my paraphrasing of our conversations when they jam to this line). Rest assured, you and your child have been to the edge before as a family! We hope everyone has a fantastic last weekend of the 17-18 school year. When we return, we have a normal class day on Monday and then on to Final Exams. Take care.
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Steve Ramsey: WHS Principal BlogPrincipal's Weekly Reflections Archives
May 2019
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