TLTAJ

New Year comes with change, but that is coupled with that changes in life or seasons we’re experiencing too. Change, while I’ve become fluent in it, isn’t one of my favor hire things. I’m good when there’s change on one or two sides of my life, but when it’s in every place, everywhere, that tends to leave me feeling undone.

Mergers, acquisitions, re-branding, re-organization… the list goes on at work. Like with most change, lots of positive and opportunities, but a lot to manage and juggle though.

Kids growing older, moving out, becoming more independent, and developing their own lives outside of the traditional home / family unit are all beautiful rites of passage and milestones to be celebrated. They’re also a little melancholy too at times, especially when you were a single parent 24/7, 365, for nearly a decade. I love the relationships with our kids, and couldn’t be prouder of them. I thinks it’s mostly adapting or evolving the parental identity and how you define it or what makes you feel it.

With health, the older you get, the slower you are at times feeling better, bouncing back, loosing weight, gaining strength, etc. Those aches and pains, the road traveled, you feel it more at 40 on the regular than you did at 30. There’s a huge mental transition thinking about your life at halftime, between 2nd and 3rd quarter as opposed to feeling more care free in the first half. There is a lot of becoming more aware and even thinking upon your own mortality. Aging parents and loved ones, even health related scares and episodes for your self, spouse, or loved ones hits a little different now.

With all of the change, growth, and new perspectives that you gain over time; you reach a place where you become much more purposeful and selective with how you spend your time and energy. I think the saying about time being the most precious resource we have rings truer and truer day by day. I think because of that, you also have less patience for unnecessary drama and chaos, you are less tolerant when your peace is disturbed.

Not sure if there is a pearl of wisdom that I was able to weave into this post, it may just be the ramblings of one man. At any rate, I hope it resonated with someone and was relatable. I think part of the human experience is being vulnerable and sharing things, not just the pretty. There is power in knowing that you are not alone in your experience and that it’s not just you that may feel or see something a certain way. I know I have benefited from that in others, so it’s my hope that it is a benefit to someone else too.