AN AUGUST REMINDER

The calendar may turn each January, and fiscal years refresh in July, but brass-tacks reality reminds us that August is the functional new year for many of us.

In addition to the annual humidifier, August delivers a scholastic preseason of open houses, orientation and registration. In other words, summer’s last hurrah before Academia reclaims the podium. For parents, August indeed is the starting line to a race that resets each May for the better part of two decades and culminates, ultimately, in a bittersweet gut punch.

A scene in the 2016 animated fable, “The Red Turtle,” serves as reminder for this August rite of passage.

The film’s a strange one, no doubt, but it’s unique animation alone is worth a watch. And though you won’t hear any dialogue over its 80-minute runtime, the absence of vocal clutter enhances the story’s message. Language was a necessary gift, but communication is most effective when simply conveyed. A look, a smile, a nod. Here, adrift in this 21st century pop-culture yelling match, we’ve forgotten the lesson of Less Is More.

The film opens to a shipwrecked pro-

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

tagonist, alone on an Eden-like island, whose attempts to leave are thwarted by a giant red turtle. Eventually, the sea-framed horizon. unlikely antagonist transforms into the castaway’s Eve and soon, a son is born. The boy is raised in a state of bliss; the island and surrounding sea provide everything the family needs to survive in comfort, if only its members are willing to put in the work. No moment is left not fully savored; every ounce of satisfaction is squeezed from the fruits of their lives together.

Ultimately, symbolic August dawns and the son, transformed seemingly in an instant from romping toddler to idling young adult, recognizes his own path ahead of him.

And grieving parents let him go.

There’s much more to take from this quiet, resonating tale. But Less Is More, and all.

One scene stands out: Father and young son romping carelessly across a late-afternoon hillside meadow, laughing and soaking up a sun set to dip all too soon below the linear perfection of a

As painful as letting go can be — whether it’s nudging your first-born into the classroom on the first day of kindergarten or sending them off to a first job multiple states away — all is right with the world when we find the strength to let go at the proper time.

Blind faith is at a premium these days, especially where kids and schools are involved. Thus, a simple reminder on the cusp of August: hug your kids this month as you send them off to school. Savor every moment, and then hug ‘em some more. Romp across the meadow.

And don’t be afraid to take that bittersweet gut punch when it’s time for them to leave the island.

By Heather Baker