Every Thing Is Changing - Take One Day at a Time

My life has been experiencing a lot of changes lately, and it's a good time to self-reflect and ask myself how can I handle change gracefully?  It's always good to remember that all I can do is take one day at a time and remember to breathe.

Our daughter is graduating college in May and she has colleges "wooing" her to come get her doctorate in Engineering Education.  So she's busy figuring out the next step in her life.  My high school junior son visited School of Mines last weekend and came home and said,"I want to graduate high school this year and go to college next year."  So we've been steadily working on that this week.  His application is in and we have to sign up for some on line classes to finish high school early.

Our business is hopping, keeping us all busy.  The NLP program that I've been a part of for over a year now is undergoing a lot of changes since Mana and Ryan left a few weeks ago.  I'm trying to figure out a new fitness routine so that I can continue with my goals and not be frustrated.   And on top of all of that one of Joe's friends that we've known since pre-school took his own life this week.

At times the pressure of the week seemed too much.  But I know better.  I've been taught better.  So sometimes I just have to slow down and talk to myself or even better I have a great spouse to talk to and we remind each other of what we've been taught.  First of all God is always first.  Remember to keep God first.  Pray, read the Bible, reflect -- this always brings peace for me.

Then I remember to take one day at a time.  With so much change around me, I begin to doubt that I'll ever get all the weight off.  I don't want to give up.  I just feel like "this is as good as it gets."  So again, I have to have a talk with myself and remind myself to just take ONE DAY AT A TIME.

So I've made a goal for myself for these next two months - because the holidays are upon us and things seem to speed up instead of slow down -- to just "breathe" and "take one day at a time."  I encourage you to do the same if you begin to feel overwhelmed.  I also remind myself that there are two ways to look at every situation so why not pick the positive way?

I would love your suggestions on how to respond to the following comments:  I was shopping for new clothes and for the first time in over 15 years I found myself in unfamiliar territory.  I was in the regular part of the store - not the plus size section of the store.  I actually asked a clerk for some help and she suggested a name brand of clothing that she liked.  When I told her I had lost 56 pounds since January - she asked "Did you have cancer?"   Then again at check out, I was telling the clerk about losing the weight and  she joyfully asked, "Oh did you have the surgery?"  I told both of them that no, I had worked with a trainer who had helped me with diet and exercise.  Any suggestions on how to handle that any better?

I love this next incident in that it shows you why Ryan is so valued by so many.  My son Joe went to a NLP workout this week.  When he came home, my husband Dave asked Joe, "Did anyone ask where I was?"  Joe said, "No." Then Dave just very honestly said, "Ryan would have asked where I was."  That's it in a nutshell.  He (Ryan) cared about each person that he trained.  It was much more than just a job or a paycheck.  That's the piece that is lacking right now in the program for me.  I'm building it with one of the trainers and that's been a positive for me.

That simple remark that Dave made that night reminded me also to make sure I was showing care and concern for those that I interact with.  It's a big deal.  We (our family) try to tell/show people how much they mean to us.  We are reminded again that this is such an important thing to do with our friends and acquaintances, because we never know what people are struggling with in their lives.  There is nothing we can do now that would bring Joe's friend back - but we can remember to be kind to those we interact with in the future.

So this post tonight is a reflective post.  If you've made it through my "essay" I say congratulations.  This is just a little bit of what goes through my head in a week.  So while everything seems to be changing, I will continue to take one day at a time.