Beginnings are Beautiful-Middles and Endings Too…

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I headed over to Mt Pleasant with a stop-over on Daniel Island to visit Ben. Everything at school is winding down… next Tuesday is graduation for fifth graders which I will be attending but today is supposed to be the fifth grade Maypole Dance and subsequent picnic… I say ” supposed” because the weather forecast is pretty tricky… we can only hope the rains hold off until after the morning activities.

Watching my grandchildren getting excited about summer vacation… camps of every interest… surfing, church, art, sports… there is something for everyone along with vacations. … brings back wonderful memories!

Still…. children love catching fireflies, playing hide and seek and enjoying summer with its seemingly endless sunlight … far into the night. A most magical aura surrounds these golden days of childhood- innocence and delight. I pray it remains in their memories forever. I pray it remains safe.

Sometimes I , half-kiddingly, believe, part of me, went into teaching so I would never have to give up summers. I remember on the last day of school… telling my students to line up after me to prepare for the final bell. The stampede out always reminded me of an old western movie!

When I was little… many of my summers were spent ( at least partially) in Laurens with Grandmother Wilson. She always had a section of land behind the cotton crop ready each summer to grow corn and tomatoes. To this very day… a juicy tomato sandwich and corn on the cob is my favorite summer meal! I admittedly share a summer love affair with tomatoes and corn.

What children don’t realize when school closes down each summer is that every ending just sets up a new beginning with a new middle… the circle of life. Each cycle is connected to all three components.

So until tomorrow… Our hearts go out to the latest senseless atrocity of violence ( school shooting) recently in the news … There is a message that says ” Nothing is wasted and everything shapes us.” But in this incident I see innocent children’s lives wasted and instead of this repeat horror shaping us into action… we see ” politics as usual” pointing fingers and sidetracking answers out of fear of loss of power and money. A story as old as man himself… will we never learn? “

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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