In one of my previous posts, I wrote about change being hard work.  It is and it’s also inevitable.  I’m learning that I can either fight it tooth and nail or welcome it.  Those are opposite ends of the spectrum and life is lived somewhere in the middle.

As I was walking this morning, I noticed that the leaves in our neighborhood are finally changing colors.  I don’t keep track of the exact time when they’re supposed to change, but today was the day I noticed.  I love this time of year because our neighborhood has some of the most stunning trees that reach to the sky and treat us to a symphony of color.  It takes my breath away.  And after the color change, the leaves fall leaving us with bare branches in winter that are preparing for the spring with new growth.  The new leaves can’t show up if the old ones are still on the branches.  Nature seems to handle change quite well.

I had this all in my mind today and wished I was as adept at handling change like the trees are.  Mike and I switched cars today.  It’s a very practical, economical solution for us right now, but I must confess I’m a little bothered by it.  Logically I know it makes complete sense: my car has fewer miles, is newer and gets better gas mileage (he drives about 60 miles/day.  I drive about 20 miles/week); the sound system works in mine (he can listen to his music while he commutes).  There are other reasons and quite honestly I don’t know why we didn’t switch sooner than this, but now it just makes the best sense.  As I’ve processed while I’m having a problem with this, it really just comes down to the fact that I’m used to my car and I’m not used to his.  In the big scheme of things this is what I would describe as a first world problem (instead of a third world problem like starvation).  Even as I write about this there’s a part of me that feels very small and petty, but it’s ultimately not about the car, it’s about how I handle change.

Part of what helps the process is having appreciation every single day for the blessings in my life.  We all have stuff that presents us with challenges (some more than others), but we also all have many more things in our lives to be thankful for.  So as I have committed to the change in my life (either self-imposed or not), part of that commitment requires an attitude of thankfulness for my circumstances and for unknown blessings that will arrive as a result of the change.  And before you think I’m a Pollyanna personality, let me assure you I’m not.  I’m just learning to look at change differently.  Yes there are times when the change we’re experiencing royally sucks, but most of the time it’s just that we’re used to the way things were.  It’s in those times that I want to take a broader view and be grateful.

“Mom, in case you weren’t sure, we don’t like change.  Change really bothers us.  There’s a reason they call us ‘creatures of habit’.  Keep that in mind the next time you change our walk route.  Just ’cause you’re bored doesn’t mean we are.”