The One Constant is....Change

We like to think that we live our lives most days with very few disruptions.  We look at our world and think that most of our days are spent in our everyday routines.  The only time things get thrown out of whack are when some major event happens and seems to change our lives.  We think of those times when we loose a job, the death of a loved one, the birth of a new family member or some natural disaster that sweeps in unexpectedly as times of change.

But it is in a microscopic look at our lives that we see change everyday, sometimes from one moment to the next.  The kid who woke up this morning and complained about not being able to find his sneakers, is not the same kid who will put his head back on that pillow tonight.  Every experience, every encounter has affected him in some way that makes him a different person than he was before.  All the people that have interacted with him have left their mark and some way changed who he will be forever.  Even the physical body changes constantly.   Anyone with a teenage boy knows that they never stop growing, and eating.  Their bodies change moment by moment, hair never stops growing...and spreading.  A pimple that was there today will be gone tomorrow. 

As adults, change is always there as well.  Maybe our bodies have stopped growing, but we are still maturing.  Hair continues to grow, for some it even stops growing.  Bodies change as our lifestyles have an impact on our physical appearance.  We should be getting wiser with all our new and varied experiences to learn from.  People come and go from our lives as part of our natural cycle.  We grow, have our own families, parents age, children grow and mature, parents pass away and children move away.

Some of the changes that we experience are shared common events, while others are unique and sometimes leave us feeling isolated.  Some changes are wonderful and we consider them blessings while others are times when we feel the most alone and left in the dark.  Within some changes you can find both the blessing and the darkness.

My thoughts today come from the fact that I watched my oldest son play his last official baseball game last evening.  I find such joy in watching him play that I feel like a large part of my happiness is now gone.  What am I to do?  I am excited for him heading to college in the fall, far away though.  I won't be able to see him except for the big holidays, but I am looking forward to watching him win at his next "event".  It may not be a ball game but it may be in a successful semester or a excellently completed project.  He will grow and change so much in his first semester away and I envy him being able to experience life as a young person testing the waters and out on your own.  He will be a different person and yet still the same when he comes back to see us.  I won't be able to see him "play" a game two or three nights a week but I will get to sit back and watch him excel in his life.     

Embrace the change, because they will be coming whether you want them to or not.  Good or bad, expected or unexpected, normal or out of the ordinary, change forces us to learn and grow.  If we make the most of it, we will always come out for the better, that does not mean that I can not sit back and wish I could keep him home a little bit longer and watch one more game.  I am his mom.