On Friday, our St. Clement’s School community welcomed back our graduates from 2017 for Homecoming, engaged in a very spirited Field Day organized by our House Heads, and left midday for a Thanksgiving long weekend. As I settled in my office for a few hours of quiet time for organization, I reflected on the past week and particularly on the message from Kaili Kinnon, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, at St. Clement’s Church, during our Thanksgiving service on Thursday.
Kaili reminded our community that we often find ourselves in contradictory surroundings- ones that might present remarkable beauty but, at the same time, generate complexity or struggle. In these situations, it is important for us to remember all for which we are grateful. She told us of a time in her life when she was completing university, playing a lead role in an opera, volunteering, and feeling completely burnt out. Kaili told our students, staff, parents and visitors that she began writing down, each day, ten things for which she was grateful. While some days it was hard to come up with three or four, other days it was hard to stop. Kaili did this for six months daily and told us all that it was a powerful process that helped her through a very difficult period of time.
Acknowledging that while there will always be complexity in our lives, there will also always be things for which we can be grateful is fundamental to our well-being. I suggest that the more we reflect on the people, times and things in our lives that feed our souls, the more positive and healthy we will be.
For me, beyond my immediate family and friends, I am so grateful for our St. Clement’s Community and, in particular, our girls young and old who remind us every day of the importance of our vocation. I am grateful for the support and challenge we receive from our community as it helps guide our decisions and our convictions about our School’s future. I am grateful for the great strength, spirit and sense of community that our small, Grades 1-12 School provides. Finally, I am grateful for the remarkable people with whom I work- faculty and staff alike- who are committed, who love our girls, and who work hard on their behalf and ensure that they are known and valued.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
