Endings and Beginnings

Today was the last performance of my kids' camp shows, so once again, their biggest summer activity is over. It's not that the summer itself is over (thank goodness!), but another milestone, filled with all the angst and excitement of theater (they don't call it drama for nothing!), has passed, leading us into the next part of our summer.

Endings are hard, particularly those that come out of things as intense as theater productions. But while I sometimes question the fact that we are jumping right into our next thing with barely enough time to ponder this ending, I am reminded that, without endings, there can really be no beginnings. From a practical standpoint, there's just not enough time to explore new things when you're still engrossed in the old. And from an emotional standpoint, how can your mind or heart even consider embracing something new if you are still caught up in the old?

When my kids were small, I'd say to their friends at the end of a playdate, "if you don't leave, you can't come back." It's not easy to accept an ending, but it's virtually impossible to try, much less enjoy, something new when you can't let the old come to an close. That has certainly been true in my work, particularly over these last few years, and I imagine it will be like that for all of us as we say "The End" to this summer of shows. It might be an end, but at the same time, as with all endings, it is most definitely a beginning.