the joy in the journey…

Change is inevitable.  Change is sometimes hard.  I do my best to view change as a good thing... without change there would be no progression.  True change is difficult, but there is no way to know what life has planned for you without change.  My friend Kristi posted this great quote about change in the comments of my last post and I thought I'd share it because it is simply AMAZING!

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."
- Anatole France


I love that last part "...we must die to one life before we can enter another".  That is exactly where I'm at... the crossroad where one life is ending and another is beginning.  And as I'm discovering, I'm facing this more and more as time goes on.

Big change #1 A little less than 2 years ago my life as a single mother was coming to an end.  Blessings and much happiness came from those years of my life.  While those years were tough, it really was a transition to leave that life behind because I truly was leaving a piece of me in the past.  Was this a good change... YES!  Was the change hard to make... oddly enough, yes.  It wasn't just a change for myself.  It was a change for my girls too, and a big one at that!  It's funny that years later I'm still adapting.  I was incredibly independent as a single mommy and find that I need to remind myself often that I now have Brad and don't have to do everything on my own anymore.  It's a work in progress, but I am SO grateful for my sweet husband and his never-ending patience with me. (:

Big change #2 was something I thought I wouldn't have to face for another year... high school graduation.  I attended my youngest brother's high school graduation a few weeks ago.  I didn't expect to experience all of the emotions that came with it!  I look at my beautiful daughter and can't believe that she will graduate from high school in a year!!!  I sat there sobbing at my little brother's graduation for two reasons... 1, I'm happy for him and all the excitement that is coming his way.  And 2, I'm not ready for the changes that are coming with my oldest daughter growing up, graduating and heading off to college.  True, we've been talking about the future and college for quite sometime now, but I guess sitting at this graduation it finally hit me that these changes are coming and they are coming soon, very soon.  I am so in love with this "little" girl and I'm so excited for her future, but am definitely experiencing some melancholy in the process.

Big change #3  Starting the world of mommy-hood all over again from the beginning.  With a 10 year span between K and Z came a variety of change.  Sleep... I don't really remember what that is.  While Zach is a good little sleeper, I forgot what it was like to lose the freedom of an afternoon catnap; and while I would love to sleep in later than 7 a.m. on the weekends, this little boy sees nothing wrong with waking up with the sun.  I had also forgotten the ease that came with older children... something that used to take an hour to accomplish now takes at least 2.  If I needed to run an errand, I did.  Now I either enlist a big sister to babysit or I tow this little boy around with me everywhere... everywhere... all the time.  He's really such a trooper!  Again, the change has come and I'm rolling with the punches, but sometimes those changes are full of learning curves and bumps in the road.  I've discovered that with change comes a lot of JOY!  I love this little boy more than anything {he ranks right up there with his sisters and Brad} and he makes me so happy.  
I would be lying if I didn't admit that there are days when I long to spend time with the old me, or to pack up Kayla's backpack for her and send her off to first grade again... oh, and to maybe take a nap, but with change happening everyday lately I'm reminded how quickly it comes... before I know it I'll be writing about being an empty nester. (:


So many changes in sight... so much excitement.  I may shed a few tears along the way {sniffle, sniffle}, but I will enjoy my journey none the less. 

Here’s to the joy in the journey…