Transitions

I'll miss you, KP!

As my daughter turned and walked towards the airplane and her new life in college, I turned and walked towards my car, aware that as she was beginning a new adventure, so was I.  Sigh, transition time.

I've come to think that the word transition is just a nice way of saying a complete upheaval of life as you know it.  Think about it...getting married changed your life.  Having your first child (and every subsequent child), changing jobs, moving to a new house, watching your five year old go off to kindergarten, school graduations, children getting married, becoming a grandmother for the first time...all these mark transitions.  Some are big, some are small.  Some are good, some are painful, all mark an opportunity to grow and learn new things.  Without transitions, many of us would be content to live in our comfortable, predictable worlds.

As with every big milestone in our children's lives (and in ours), I think we need to give ourselves time to adjust.  Old patterns of life don't change overnight and by acknowledging that things are different and accepting those changes, we can learn to adapt to our new circumstances with grace and dignity...and hopefully a good sense of humor.  :)