We learnt this week that the 190-mile Coast-to-Coast walk across the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors has received a £5.5m upgrade. It’s been designated England’s newest National Trail.
There was a lot of emphasis on preparing and starting well at St Bees on the Irish Sea coast. We saw the exhilaration of walkers completing the challenge on the North Sea coast at Robin Hood’s Bay.
However, the start only has purpose, the end is only possible, if attention is given to what comes in between. Planning, stamina and determination are required for the in-between miles.
When I was teaching… Emphasis was rightly put on the early years in school. Children gaining social and physical skills, develop skills in literacy and numeracy… Parents had expectations, good teachers enabled children to progress.
Emphasis was rightly put on the final years in school – passing exams, developing individual strengths and talents, being employable. There wasn’t always agreement, but we knew what the issues were.
However, the start only has purpose, the end is only possible, if attention is given to what comes in between. Clarity of purpose and direction is need for the middle years in education…
Yesterday Grandson-Luca celebrated his thirteenth birthday – he’s now a teenager! He’s in between – not a child, not an adult. I remember his birth. I don’t yet know the man he will grow into. He’s valued and valuable now during these in-between years of growth, development and character formation.
On Thursday Jon and Mel celebrated their wedding anniversary. We attended their wedding; the start of their married life was important. Yesterday’s celebrations were only possible because of thirty-two in-between years of love, patience and determination…
Next week, leading up to Easter, we shall think of Jesus’s disciple Peter, not of his acclaimed start – leaving his fishing nets to follow Jesus, not of his noteworthy finish – leading the first church in Jerusalem, but those important in-between character-forming times of denial, failure and recommitment…
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I like the emphasis on the in-betweens, Malcolm. Our focus is naturally on the starts and finishes, but the middle part is often where success or failure happens. Great post.
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I certainly found it to be true in school, David – the history project, the school production, the science unit of work, reading a challenging book…
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Just recently I jotted down that the in-between is where real life is lived–the mundane, the everyday.
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Absolutely, Joy. I thought that particularly with our grandson’s birthday. We celebrate the one day, but all of the days between birthdays are important!
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