Finis Cornonat Opus

My oldest son has been marching in the Blue Stars, a World Class drum and bugle corps, this summer. (You can check them out in action here. But please don’t ask me to pick out my son - I can never find him unless he’s standing still.) It’s his rookie year and, from what I hear, it’s been a baptism by fire. The drill* is killer this year. It’s incredibly fast and tight and the kids have been struggling all summer to clean it up** and gain the respect of judges who seemed to have pigeoned-holed them early on. I’m talking literal blood, sweat and tears, not to mention twelve hour days on the field. But last night, their last show of the regular season, the kids scored their highest yet and beat out a rival for the first time all summer. It was a real high for these kids who have been working their butts off. And it was a great way to for them to move into finals week. They seem to be peaking at just the right time. 

Why am I telling you all this? Well, besides the fact I’m a very proud mama? :-)  It’s because the Blue Stars have this great motto and I think it something worth sharing. 

Finis Cornonat Opus

It’s Latin and the basic translation is “The end crowns the work.” 

Isn’t that awesome? And so true. When I get bogged down in the messy, hard day-to-day work of writing, I try to remember this. Getting to the end will be worth it. Having a book I’m proud of will be worth it. All the work - the tears, angst, frustration, pain in my hands and wrists, research, worrying, never ending doubt and sacrifices to spend time writing - will pay off.  

I think that’s true for all of us. So this week, remember Finis Cornonat Opus and of course (cover your ears), GO BLUE STARS!!

* Drill - the visual lines and movement on the field

**Clean up - straighten their lines and move when they’re supposed to / play the right notes etc