Dear Family and Friends,
At the eighth grade graduation, the faculty sang the following words by Graham Nash; "Teach your parents well... And feed them on your dreams... and know they love you." This sentiment supports a picture from our recent camping trip to Cape Disappointment . The trip gave a beautiful picture of the emerging teenager as their inner world is hearing the call to change and grow.
Despite the driving wind and rain, our seventh graders were pleased as ducks in a pond to take their shoes off and play in the foamy shoreline. They ran with joy to the edge of the solid world, facing thousands of miles of storms and deep waters. The great unknown awaits. Facing this threshold, they did exactly what healthy teenagers do; test that boundary. They hauled heavy rounds and logs to the shore break to set up makeshift piers to stand on. Arm in arm they stood, facing the approaching freezing waters.
From great distances, the waves made their final motion upon the shores. The patchwork piers of the students often kept them triumphantly above the water. With swelling confidence, they could quickly move the logs further out toward the waves. The boundary continues to move and the children continue to grow. At times, the structures that hold them up fail and they are sent running toward the shore where safety and loving adults await. Screams and laughter were the music of this "play" on this beach where the mighty Columbia River dances with the great Pacific Ocean .
The chaperones and I marveled at how harmonious and joyful the students were. It was said by another chaperone that "I am sure there is a lot of learning going on here, but I don't know exactly what it is." I recon there was learning taking place among the students, but I think there was more learning taking place in me as an adult, witnessing a precious moment in time. These growing people were able to let their guard down and just "BE." I think that their being comfortable to be themselves in a healthy situation, pushing boundaries, is exactly what they should be doing. Their capacity to just "be" was awe inspiring and I felt very lucky to share in this experience.
