Friday, January 13, 2012

Change

Change is a good thing.  Change is necessary.  Change is difficult for someone like me who likes to keep everything neat, tidy and controlled.

I suppose the start of a New Year is a good time for change.

Farmer Boy starts a new job on Monday.  He is saying goodbye to the job he has held for 14 years and trying his hand at something new.  He'll get a pick-up.  He'll get to work with pig manure and farmers.  He'll be able to spend time in a field instead of an office. He won't have to go to meetings.  He won't have to leave us for a week at a time.  He's excited.  I'm excited, and a little scared.  You know, neat, tidy, change.

When the neat and tidy thing becomes threatened, I tell myself that Farmer Boy is a farmer.  He likes being outside.  He loves taking care of livestock.  He loves crops and fields, harvest and yields.  The 14 year old job was such a blessing to us, but the last few years had become difficult.  Farmer Boy seemed to be shriveling up somehow. I suppose it was like a cornstalk without sun and rain. I heard him whistle the other day. It sounded like sun and rain, like the shriveling time was over.  It shocked me. I hadn't heard the sound of something growing inside of Farmer Boy for a long time.

Okay, maybe I'm convincing myself that change is a good thing.

All right.  Next up.  Kelli.

If you lean in to your computer real close you might be able to catch a glimpse of this.  I'm trying to figure out our new scanner/printer.  More change.  Technological change. The worst kind.

The picture is of Kelli and Elizabeth.  You probably can't see it but Kelli has her eyes closed and has a look of sheer delight on her face.  Hugging Elizabeth, trying to hold onto her little sister who was probably getting ready to do something naughty, was apparently giving Kelli pleasure. 


This was them on Saturday night.  They are looking through the yearbook trying to help Kelli find someone to ask to prom.



My sweet, sweet girls.  They have changed a lot.

Kelli got a job this week.  She has been looking for something for over a year and this week two job offers came in.  Isn't that the way it goes? She is working at a local gym in the child care department.  Moms come to work out and leave their kids with Kelli to play with.

Yesterday I took Kelli to her first college class.  Her high school offers students a chance to take college classes for free.  Kelli is taking an animal science class.




She loves livestock.  Hmm....wonder where that comes from?

Anyway, yesterday was her first class.  College campus.  My baby.  Walking to class, without me.  I was not really ok with that.  I asked some friends if they thought Kelli would mind if I walked to class with her, while holding her hand of course, and then sat beside her during the lecture.  They hinted that Kelli might be a little embarrassed by that.  I gave up that idea, dropped her off, let her walk to the huge building where her class was, made sure no young men were going to follow her, and then I left her there. Alone. Without me.

Wait.  Did I say something earlier about change being good?  Maybe I'm changing my mind.

Kelli did fine.  She made it back home safe.  I tucked her last night, gave her kisses and asked her if she just wanted to stay home with me forever.

She laughed.  I was serious.

Neat and tidy?  Control?  I'm learning to let go.  I don't like learning new things.

Change. Inevitable.

I guess it's time to mess things up a little bit. Here we go.

2 comments:

  1. Brianna will take her first college class this next school year. I'm thinking I need to learn Russian too. But I was told that I couldn't even sit in the back of the class. *Sigh*

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    Replies
    1. Well, I have sat beside you in class and I don't blame her! You're so embarrassing!

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