I like beginnings. I like positive progress. And I like them not just in the people and things around me, but also within myself. Here are some of the things that have changed in my life lately.
- Marshall started preschool in August. He goes to school four days a week. Before he returns home each day, the teacher tucks a piece of paper into his backpack. It lists all the activities the kids did for the day. They play with Play-Doh and listen to stories and sing songs, among other things. Sometimes the teacher sends home Marshall’s craft projects. For example, he made a paper mirror (the “glass” part was a piece of tin foil) and he made a painting by rolling a paint-covered apple across a piece of paper. One day the teacher even sent home a photograph of Marshall. He was wearing a fireman’s hat and holding a fire hose (with a little help from the visiting fireman, of course). We love opening up his backpack and checking to see what treasure might be inside. We love knowing that he’s having a great experience at school, too.
- We have eggs! Chicken eggs, that is. The hens finally started laying. My husband sometimes finds the eggs while they’re still warn. Talk about fresh!
- We are no longer a single-vehicle family. We bought a truck. Why buy one now after all these years of getting by with just the car? We can afford it no better now than we could a couple of years ago. But we had some mechanical problems with the car, and that made us realize how much we need to have a working vehicle at all times. I’m not really a truck kind of person, but I’m willing to let my husband have his way in this. He deserves it.
- As I mentioned before, I sent a story for publication. I’m glad I’ve changed to the point where I can do something like that. Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have been able to, because I used to worry too much about how people would react to my writing.
- I’ve also come clean with my coworkers, disclosing the pseudonym under which I submit freelance work, and admitting to submitting other new ideas anonymously. I realized that I had, in some ways, taken anonymity to the point of near-invisibility, and I found that I didn’t like it.
Change is an especially fitting subject at this time of year. That’s probably part of what made me think of it. The leaves have been changing for a while now, but I still get a thrill every time I look up and see those glowing colors, and every time I see another leaf twirling down to the ground. I love the fall!
And that’s why Change is my Favorite Thing today.
I generally find the thought of change stressful and distressing. Maybe if I start to think of things that already *have* changed for the good, as you have here, I will find this inevitable idea less upsetting. Thanks for planting a seed!
Change can be stressful, but I also find as I get older that a lack of change can be equally stressful. Some things need to change!