It suddenly felt like fall. For most of September, it was warm, with comfortable evenings even when it rained. Then suddenly, the nights got colder and we were into fall. The change happened all in an instant.

Parent Stuff

My life feels like that. The season has changed and it seems to have come very suddenly.

Last year, we still had our youngest in school and we were busy with school stuff. The same things that had occupied our lives for more than 20 years—meetings with teachers, checking and/or helping with homework, sports. You know, parent stuff.

We were also busy visiting my dad. A year after my mum had passed away, my 87-year-old father was doing okay living on his own, and we made a weekly visit to Surrey a priority.

Then, very quickly, the season of life changed for us.

In An Instant

Dad passed away unexpectedly. He was actually out doing his weekly grocery shopping and he just collapsed. We were grateful that he didn’t suffer, but our lives changed in an instant as well.

Our youngest graduated in June and has now gone off to college. Suddenly the house is quiet. We no longer have parent-teacher conferences, no longer are we the parents cheering from the sidelines at sporting events.

The season has changed for us.

Something else happened in our family’s life this past summer. Our eldest son and his wife had their first child; my wife and I became grandparents.

Life has changed and this is indeed a new season!

Now, when things happen at school and decisions are made, I am invested on a slightly different level. Invested not only as a staff member and as a parent of four alumni, but now on behalf of a grandchild who, the Lord willing, will be walking our halls as a student of ACS in a few short years. This is a new filter for me as I think about what ACS is doing in the lives of our students.

This is a new perspective for me as we talk about building and program changes.

The Good Things

The season has changed and each season holds different blessings. Fall is full of colour, bright days and cool nights. It is also the season of thanksgiving. This new season of life is full of good things too. In and through it all, we are reminded of how faithful our Lord is. We experience His faithfulness in the changing seasons, in our family life, and in the life of our school. Thankful for the blessings of the past, I am excited to see what the coming years have in store for our grandson and for ACS!