Rearranging the Furniture

Change

One of my daughters recently posted on her Facebook page that she had a sudden awareness that things will "never be the same." Knowing my daughter as I do, I knew that this was not a some sort of cryptic message, lament about impending doom, or teenage melodramatics. I knew that she was pondering something deep and moving as she was coming to realizations about life and growing up.

The funny thing is, that feeling isn't limited to a teenager realizing that she and those around her are growing up and moving on. As we get ready to move on to different phases of life, or if something major happens in our life plans - things change. I think we all get to feeling that way... that things will never be the same.

Change is Continual

The truth of the matter is that life is a series of constant changes and movements. It never does really stay the same. Children grow and move out of house and away from home. Many friends come into our lives for a season and then move on as we welcome other friends in. Some stay with us for a lifetime but even those relationships are in a constant state of change. Loved ones are with us, shape us, form us, and then pass on. Jobs, skills, and interests wax and wane through our years. Whether we want it to or not, time, life, the world, even we are in a constant state of change.

However, we can take some comfort in some of the constants.

Our Life as A Home

If we look at our lives like a home that we are building for our selves to inhabit, we can see all these things that change as pieces of furniture to put into that house. The pieces are heirlooms, pieces of comfort, pieces of whimsical enjoyment, and practical and logical pieces. Some are steeped in tradition and represent our values and attitudes. Some provided for us and our children. Some we outgrew, others have lasted and grown with us. Many of the pieces are prominently displayed for a lifetime, while others are tucked away in the attic or basement. Regardless of how these pieces look now, where they are placed or stored, they are all real and have some sort of lasting presence. The change is not a disappearance of the furniture, it is simply a rearranging of it.

Life is Not Static

Life is not static. Life is dynamic, ever evolving and changing. Change is not a disappearance of the pieces, it is simply them moving around. We could benefit from not mourning the loss of what was, but by looking at the change of a rearranging of the furniture in our lives.

What do you think?

Kids -You've Gotta Love 'Em

Seriously, we’ve got to love them. It must be in our DNA.

How else can you explain the fact that when your 3 year old sees you in the shower and exclaims “Mommy, your butt is big!” , you look at them with almost more love than you had before they reminded you of the girth you still carried behind you as a result of giving birth to them!

I think one of the most amazing memories of having small children was their inhibition. They would do things that as an adult, I would never consider doing. They faced most challenges without fear and without over-analyzing the potential effects of their actions. They took things at face value. Most of all, the things they said came of a place of curiosity, honesty, and a perspective untainted by life.

I wish sometimes that I could strip my brain of everything that I have witnessed in life and start with a fresh set of eyes.

Now I am not saying that I am unhappy, overly cynical, pessimistic, and untrusting of the world around me. What I am saying is that I would love to go back and experience life with that same curiosity and unobstructed view that my kids had when they were little. I wish that I could speak my mind and observations without the complex processing of considering if it is socially acceptable or whether or not it is going to hurt someone’s feelings. I wish I could face life with the same fearlessness that my children had.

I assure you that as my children grew, we did teach them what was appropriate and respectful. My teenage kids do not tell me my butt is big anymore. Hopefully they don’t think it is. If they do, they have learned that opinion is one best kept to themselves. But, I am grateful that I had the privilege to watch them become who they are through their wearing of the uncolored, untainted and un-obstructed lenses of a child.

By the way, my daughter’s follow-up statement to “Mommy, your butt is big!” was “But, Daddy’s is huge!” Not gonna lie….that made me feel better!