Place

So I was thinking about it today and I realize what happened with camp this year and why I couldn't be there anymore.

In high school did you have a team that you were on or an organization that you worked with? Maybe you were like me, I was a band nerd. I was on the drum line for 3 years, played bass then snare. My senior year I was even drum major. I could do band. And not just the knowing how to read music and play percussion part, or even march. I could crab walk like the drummers and traverse like the horn players. I could memorize sets and music in a day. I could teach a set. I could direct and organize the whole group. I could find you a copy of the music you needed, knew how to read Stone's mood, who to ask for what, and I knew everyone. Some of my best memories in high school were of band. Even the awful parts seem great because I was part of something great.

But eventually you graduate from high school. You go off to college and you come back for marching contest and everyone's excited to see you. You get lots of hugs, talk to everyone about your life and their life and what's new. It's a great feeling. You feel proud to be part of a legacy.

Then a couple more years go by and you go back for a visit. The kids who were "your freshmen" are now seniors and gosh, they got tall. You chat for a bit but you don't recognize any other faces. That's okay though, no one else notices because they're all doing their thing. The thing you used to do. Sure you could still pick up an instrument and play along, you could even direct. But now, you just feel awkward. It hurts, because you remember what it was, what it still is for these strange new people who have taken your place. Now it's their turn and you have to let it go.

That's what happened and it's okay. It will probably happen again and again and again. I think a big part of life that many people may never understand is that it's about enjoying the most out of things and then letting them go. Even at the end of life you have to know that you enjoyed the most out of life and then you have to let it go. Nothing is the end. New things lie ahead but you can't hold them until your hands are empty.

That's what happens and it's okay.

Shalom