Onward

I have been caught up with end-of-school-year ceremonies as everyone moves up and some move on. As I watched these rites of passage, I remembered a thought I had a few years ago at about this same time of year. It probably should be called "You can't go back." These eighth graders in a few months will feel the urge to go back to the old school "just to visit and say 'Hello." Now they are tops in the school, but that changes almost as quickly as the caps are tossed in the air. They will come back only to find everything has changed. Their former teachers who they felt so close to will be busy with the new students who have taken their places, in more ways than one. And they will realize They can't go back. It is that way with all of us, whether moving from a school, an old job, moving to a new city with a new companion. And it is perhaps that way with those who have died . They have passed on to a new level of existence and are busy with new spiritual and extra- physical connections. Perhaps they've wanted to return----maybe they have several times----- but then they realized things have changed. With time, everything has changed and moved on. We have not forgotten them and they have not forgotten us, but Graduation is called "Commencement" for a reason as Kindergartners and Eighth graders, and Ninety-year olds discover: it's always time to move forward to someplace new.