New beginnings happen throughout life.
My 87-year-old mother signed up for a writing class at the local senior center, and today was her first session. Not that writing is anything new to her, but it's been several years since she's gone to class. The anticipation was a bit anxiety producing, as new endeavors are to most of us.
As we drove to class, she jabbered about one thing then another, wondering how the class would be. Would they read the stories aloud? Would they critique each other's stories? And she wondered if she'd be the oldest, and maybe people would "wonder what this old lady is doing here." It didn't help that there was road construction, which added anxiety to the possibility of being late. But she was the first to arrive.
I watched as she timidly walked in with a couple of stories in hand that she had written over the past several years. Students were to bring something that would give the instructor an idea of their writing, and as she pored over her stories in anticipation, she had chosen two that she was ready to share with the group. One was about her grandson's visit when he was just a little fella, about his expecting to be able to take a monkey home from the zoo because she had asked which animal he liked best.
I sat near her classroom, planning to do some reading for a class of my own, but kept wondering how it was going for her. Would she want to come again next week, or would she find it too taxing? After the two hours of class, out she came with a new-found friend about her own age. She was in seventh heaven. I asked how she liked it. "I loved it!!"
New people. New stories to hear. New stories to write.
New beginnings. They happen throughout life, no matter our age.
So thankful for them.
Image ~ Scion via pixabay
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