Thursday, November 6, 2008

C is for Change

Despite the fact that I seem willing to up and move at the drop of a hat, any hat, I think I'm probably about average in my willingness to accept change.  After forty-seven years on this earth, I have a pretty clear understanding that change is inevitable.  But that doesn't mean I won't occasionally be cranky about it.

It's not that I think change is bad.  It's just that I've come to understand that it unbalances things and that life always steps in to redress that balance. 

So moving to be closer to family will mean moving further away from cherished friends.  Landing a job that gives me more money means landing a job that takes away from my precious free time.

As I gained greater maturity and independence,  my parents moved further along the time-line to illness and infirmity.  I couldn't move backwards.  And neither could they.

I think I really became an adult when I finally realized that being a grown-up means that there's no such thing as an unmixed blessing.

Of course, it also means that there are no unmitigated disasters.  If the mitigation only comes in finding out that other people care, is that not enough?

My achievement of maturity is far from complete.  Especially when things are going my way, I want to hang on, just a little longer, to the way things are.

But you can't.  Everything changes.  Always.  And all you can do is relish each and every moment you're given.  And be oh, so grateful for the people you meet along the way,

2 comments:

Tara said...

Barb

So well said! Most of life is bittersweet so I am taking it day by day and relishing the little moments!

Barb McMahon and Alan Mailloux said...

That's all you can do, sweetie...