Changes

     Life is full of changes.  Life changes, I call them.  

     Most of us don't like change, we would like things to stay the same, depending on the circumstances.  If your life is not going to well, then you would welcome a change for the better, but when things seem to be going our way, we want them to stay that way for eternity.

     As a parent, I suppose one of the biggest life changes is becoming a parent.  For most parents, it was an instant change. From the second a new child is put in your arms, you know without a doubt, that life will never be the same again.  Now granted, there are some who were not whacked on the head with the "parenthood" wand when their child was born, but for the most part, most of us were.

     We welcome the changes that come from raising a child. Watching them learn to crawl, talk, walk and run and the majority of parents are pretty sure their child is the only child learning these extraordinary skills.

     Then one day, we realize that this child is no longer a person who needs our every moment, that it is time for them to be their own person, try out their wings and leave the nest.  

     I remember Mother telling a story about when my oldest sister, Lela left the nest.  She helped her settle into a new apartment and when Mother got back into the car she burst into tears and told my Dad that "things would never be the same again."  She was right and of course it didn't help that when they had got about two miles down the road, Mother had discovered she had left her purse behind.  I'm sure that Dad probably muttered something under his breath, since she was quite proficient at leaving her purse somewhere other than where it should have been, and back they went.  She ran in to the apartment, grabbed her purse and ran out, but she wasn't so quick as to not notice that Lela was sitting in a chair, crying too.

     Life changes can be subtle.  Like walking naked past a full length mirror and realizing that your body, for some reason, doesn't look much like it did when you were twenty something.  That eye opening moment usually brings about the fact that there needs to be some changes made, either exercise or diet, vow to never be naked again, or get rid of the mirror.

     A new job or occupation can be an exciting life change, just as losing that job can be a devastating one. 

     Losing someone is a huge life change.  Whether the loss comes from someone deciding they just don't give a rat's butt anymore and leaving to someone walking through death's door, the hole they leave behind will never be completely filled.  It's a change that we are never quite prepared for, but it's important to realize, it was a change for them too.

     Life changes begin from the moment we draw our first breath to the time we take our last.  Without these changes, nothing would change.  There would be no moving forward without them and forward is where we need to go.