“By three methods we may learn wisdom:  First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.”

— Confucius

Some people use New Year’s Eve as a day of taking stock and thinking about how their lives have changed during a year’s time.  Maybe it’s because my life is filled with children, but I find that my day of reflection seems to fall on the first day of school.  Perhaps this habit relates to our old custom of taking a snapshot of each child, all pressed and dressed and in possession of a new book bag and an older and wiser demeanor than the one that marked the previous year.  It is so easy to see the growth and change in a developing child.  It is more difficult to take stock of our own successes and failures.

As I send my last child off to tenth grade this morning, I note that she is two inches taller than she was a year ago.  Her face is that of a young adult now, having lost its roundness and taken on a more mature appearance.  She moves more gracefully, disguising any excitement or apprehension and maintaining a calm demeanor as she draws on her memories of last year’s transition to high school and reassures herself that she will succeed once again.

Reflecting on her past year has increased her wisdom about her own ability to navigate a more complicated world.  She will step into new classes, new experiences, and greater understanding this year; and she will carry with her the confidence that has grown from fifteen years of trial and error and failure and success that have brought her to this moment.  She will grow in wisdom through imitating her teachers and learning the facts that will help her to understand the courses she needs to master this year.  She will step over the threshold that divides her known world from one that is filled with new ideas and adventures, and she will grow in wisdom from embracing the new experiences that lie ahead.

If I close my eyes, I still can picture her on the first day of kindergarten — pressed and dressed and sporting a new book bag, ready to face the world.  How far she has come in ten years!  How wonderful to come to yet another first day of school and have the pleasure of reflecting on all that she has learned!  How exciting to think of all that still lies ahead!

The school bus is pulling away from the curb.  A new year has begun.  I close my eyes and remember my own snapshot from my first day of kindergarten.  I think of the past year and how my own experiences have once again changed the shape of my life.  I look in the mirror and imagine myself in a shiny new pair of shoes and a brand new dress.  I adjust the invisible book bag that hangs on my shoulder and step across the threshold into another year of excitement.

Off I go to another first day of school, assured that my world will forever be a classroom with new and exciting ideas and experiences waiting to be discovered.  May we all grow in wisdom during the fresh new year that lies ahead.