We have two seniors. No this isn’t the beginning of a ransom note that arrived at the retirement home shortly after it was discovered by the staff that Merle and Edna had went to, but had not returned from, the monthly workshop at “Stitch n Suds” (the fabric store/brewery formerly known as “Serge n Soused”).

The owners, Phyllis and Sid, thought the new name would help attract a more civilized and refined class of clientele. The kind that sip a little and sew a lot. The opposite had become an issue, and the cause of few altercations (not alterations). This month’s workshop “Knotty Tree Skirts” was particularly popular and well attended.

Sierra, our daughter, and Jackson, our son, are both seniors this academic year. Sierra is wrapping up her bachelor’s degree in Film at Montana State University, and Jackson is making a run at graduating from Stevens High School. Good for them. Then what?

There’s always a “then what”, life is a perpetual series of beginnings and endings. Like Sisyphus, sentenced by Zeus to push a big heavy rock up a hill in perpetuity only to have it roll back down again. Then what? Push it up again…and again…and again. Why? Zeus is a grudge holding jerk. But on a positive note, it builds chiseled glutes that will be the envy of all on Mount Olympus.

What else do we have to do with our time? Begin this…end that…and repeat. Repeat until those chiseled glutes sag and the rock rolls over you on its way back down. Then what? Then I guess it’s someone else’s turn to pick up where you left off. I’m sure they’ll be thankful for the path you’ve worn into the hillside, the bit of rock you’ve worn away. Thankful, but not completely beholden, the rocks still heavy, the hills still steep.

It always sounds a bit pompous to start a sentence with “as (insert historically significant person here) once said…”, but as Henry David Thoreau once said, “Enter into the great experiment of life and strive to be a humane being living a whole human life.” That seems to be a fair response to the question of “Then what”.

If you continually “strive to be a humane being living a whole human life” all should be well and good…no matter the mass of the boulder or the pitch of the hill. Sierra and Jackson, listen to Henry…or not…you’re adults now, and every adult needs something to regret.

So, as Sierra and Jackson kick-off their senior years, I wish them the best in this beginning of an ending. Then what? Push that rock with a smile, it’s your rock, the hills always been there, and most likely always will be, but the rock is yours.

Push it fast, push it slow, pause when you’re tired, and when you get to the top, and it starts to roll back down again, take that time to relax and reflect upon the journey a bit before heading down to fetch it for another round.

I’m always here to help if need be. I’ve got time. The odd, but kindly, old guy across the street is trying to firm up to wear his disco pants to a class reunion, and agreed to push my rock for a bit.

Happy academic year to all you back to school folks.