Good morning.

Anyone here see the show last night? It was terrific! I didn’t know the Stewart Home School was consulting with “American Idol.”…or maybe the other way around. I say we start off the morning with a big round of applause for all the students and staff who put that phenomenal show together.
It’s a Wonderful Life is the theme this weekend – I’m pretty sure I’m not breaking any big news story with that, but Life is indeed wonderful.
It’s dynamic, irrepressible and is expressed in enormous variety. It can appear strong and perfect-looking, or irregular and far from perfect. But life presents itself without judgment. We humans are the ones who judge. And we often err. What appears to be weak can prove to be a source of surprising strength. What appears to be strong may not be. As I was writing these words in April, we observed the 100th anniversary of one of the most infamous examples of flawed perfection. A fortress of steel, a gleaming model of state-of-the-art engineering, its strength proved to be its downfall…when it raced into a sea of ice. I am referring to a sailing ship that bore the name “Titanic.”
Conversely, life that looks awry can turn out to be something wonderful. To stay with nautical examples, we only have to recall one of the most deluded sailors in history. In the days before Google maps and GPS, he sought an alternate route to the richest most exotic land of his era. Instead, he stumbled onto a place that utterly failed to live up to his hopes for riches and beauty. He spent the rest of his life trying to justify this tremendous mistake and disappointment to his financiers. This sailor was Christopher Columbus, and his “mistake” was America. We can only wonder what he would think today if he could see what has become of his great error.
Life is wonderful and it is enjoyed in any quantity – from a moment to year to a lifetime.
We have been given a gift of a weekend by the dedicated staff of the Stewart Home School. They have worked hard and long, sweated countless details, and gone way above and beyond the call of duty to lay the foundation for a wonderful time. Let us express our gratitude as they were once famous for voting in Chicago—early and often. But perhaps the best way we can honor their hard work is to enjoy the weekend to the hilt. Let us seize the moment, celebrate each and every minute with family, and our students of the Stewart Home School. Let’s make it the most wonderful weekend ever because life in all its wondrous forms, is our most precious gift…and the only reason we ever need to celebrate.
Thank you, thank you Stewart Home School and from the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a terrific weekend.