Finale

Today was a finale for the Summer Break, and a finale for another thing as well, but first, about that summer.   Yes, it seems odd to call it a "summer break," as we've been technically in a break from the school property since March.   Of course, we were there for one brief appearance back in May.  And there was a lot of school work the last few months of the year, which apparently didn't really mean that much for Madison's overall academic school year.  So really, this is the end of a long absence from the school, one that started quite some time ago.

Summer break officially started some time in May with Madison's last assignments being submitted online, and shortly after that we had a few camps at Edge ATA.  There was Forward Conference, and there was a trip to Florida and of course this weekend's adventure up in Tennessee.  But aside from that, it was a fairly quiet summer here.  It was probably a quiet summer for many other people too, as travel was restricted in many places, and a pandemic raging.  

Madison did start her piano class today, and that was great to get going.  She's been off and on again with piano practice, and having a consistent class was good to keep up with.  We drove into town, because this class was in person, like the school classes, the first one in person since March.  She played a song for her teacher, one she was working on over the summer, the one she told me she wanted to have done for my birthday, "Victor's Piano Solo."  She's actually made progress on that, but it's a somewhat challenging piece in some ways.  I sat in the car and waited, but it was good to see pictures of other students going to piano class today, some from families we know.  

We did some filming today by the lake for our new series, and that's the big thing for me today.  I've been trying to keep above water with all the writing for this weekend, and that's appropriate given the title of the series we're returning to:  "Under the Sea."  I've written a new devotional for that, and of course there's the sermon booklet.  We're actually printing this all in one booklet to hand out for a few events, including one in California this weekend, so I had to do quite a bit of last-minute writing and proofing.  It was a somewhat frantic day in that regard.

We mentioned "finale," because it was a summer finale today of course.  But tonight there was another finale, and it was a big deal to Madison, who's been watching "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" along with us.  Mommy and I have been watching since DAY ONE, back on September 24, 2013.  These cast members have been good friends we've looked forward to spending time with the last several years, and it was good to see each of them find a happy ending.  Things have looked bleak from time to time, and of course Agent Coulson has actually died a few times.  But it's still him inside the Life Model Decoy, and you can assume he'll be by to visit Melinda May in the future.  Fitz and Simmons finally find their happily ever after, and Mac looks great in the Nick Fury trench coat on the helicarrier.  Daisy and Agent Sousa in space?  Very cool.  Deke running S.H.I.E.L.D. in an alternate timeline?  That sounds about right, along with him probably still releasing new songs he claims to have written, before the actual artists have written them.  I'm not entirely sure why the entire team only meets once a year to catch up, as there really isn't any restriction on them to meet up in person.  They're already meeting with each other here and there anyway, and it may be just wishful thinking, but it seems as if they all can get back together again soon enough, except for perhaps Deke.  That sort of made for a more bittersweet ending, that's really how things are for all of us now - we're feeling bittersweet.  The show was so much fun.  We're so into the show that tonight we got excited when we saw Agent Davis return.  But the sadness was there for Madison, and pretty much us too, because this was the last episode of all.  It was must-see television tonight, a two-hour event we couldn't miss.  But we never really wanted to see it coming, simply because we've been enjoying the show together all these years.  We've ordered season five, and we'll be watching that next week once more - Madison is all caught up and has already seen those episodes, the first ones she actually watched as they were broadcast.  We'll get those probably early next week, and once again start a binge, going through the remaining seasons one more time.

Bedtime came immediately after that tonight.  After all, we have to get up early tomorrow for school.  Madison is packed and ready to go, and we set our alarms to get there a tiny bit earlier.  We said our prayers tonight, and honestly it wasn't long before we were fast asleep.  Mommy packed a lunch, but today was such a full day with work that we were all in bed fast asleep not long after prayers.  It was a good finale to the summer.