Know the lyrics?

I keep remembering the lyrics to a song. It's an oldie!! Recently, it plays a familiar tune in my head. "Change, change, change." Do you ever wonder if the things that you continue to be faced with in life are the exact things that you personally need to master? It's often said, "the one thing that will always be constant is change." So true, so true. However, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I haven't really figured that out yet. Yes, you've read my self-talk about embracing change, just a few blogs ago. Change is good.
I've experienced some more change. I just started a new job. It has been been over 12years since I've worked (except for the year I was at the elementary school with Princess and DK before Naws was born.) I was reflecting on the main accomplishments of my 12+ years ago job. I had to laughed out loud! The world wide change request system for my company was the last big project I managed. It was something that I started dabbling with in the first year I was there. It grew and grew - snowballed and eventually became a company wide project for our offices all over the world. Developing the final phase of the system took over a year and at least that long to get all the affected departments on board and trained.
My biggest project there was to create a system to facilitate change in the smoothest, least intrusive method possible. And of course to document the change to aid in evaluating the change and see where other areas could benefit from similar change. Change, change, change.
I've been working at my new job for 6 days now. Those 6 days have been filled with facilitating change. Is that not ironic? "Don't you think? A little too ironic. Ya, I really do think." (Catch the song lyrics there? Ironic, by Alysa Morteset.)
My single largest function in my new job is to facilitate change. Granted, these are different types of change. Some are life changes, some are small daily changes. I help facilitate change for Jr. High students. Changes that occur when registering or withdrawing from our school when they move, changes from elementary to junior high, changes from Jr. High to High school, changes in their class schedules, change, change, change!
Yes, once again I find myself in the middle of change and helping others make, deal and run with it. Change, yet again, is the center of my world.
So, I guess, I could say, "I'm out to change the world." ... for the good of course!
Hence, in my head, frequently runs throughout the song about change.
Can you hear the song I'm speaking of - about change. Do you know the song? Who sings it? Here are the lyrics.

Change upon faces
Changing hands
Change in my father
And my fathers land

Change, change
Change, change, change, change, change

Change in the weather
And it flies through a flag
Change in the places
I knew as a lad

Change, change
Change, change, change, change, change

Change on the mountain
Where green was turned black
Change on the valleys
That take it all back
Change in a worker
With sweat on his hands
Condemned by a future
To the no mans land

Change in the rivers
Once clean, flowing fast
Made sad and dirty
By the tears of man
Change at my ankles
Holding me back
Change like an icon
Beckoning fast

Change, change
Change, change, change, change, change

How old am I, really?

Do you ever get confused as to your age? Do you have to stop and think when asked how old you are? Do you frequently give the wrong age - on accident? Do you say you are younger or older than you really are?
I remember those teenage days when older was always better. Sixteen was a great age to pretend to be, prior to sixteen. Then it was eighteen after reaching sixteen. Twenty-one was the next age to aspire to be. Many seemed to stay twenty-one for ten or more years. Twenty-nine was another year that repeated itself more than just a couple times.
But how often does a person, after age thirty, refer to themselves as being older than they truly are?
I do that!! Not on purpose - I just spout out older ages than I really am. I don't get it!

This morning as I lay in bed, enjoying the fact that it was Sunday, so I could sleep in. I was reviewing in my mind a few conversations in my mind from last night's "Girl's night out." One conversation particularly was with my new friend Ella. How is it that I can be a week older than Ella, have an 18 year-old, and have only started my family a year later than her, yet she has a 20 year old? I was doing the math in my head. Obviously, my math skills are not up to Peggy's (think of what my quilt would look like!). It was just not adding up.
My mind, knowing me quite well, and not wanting to overheat, said, "let it go." So, I did. I then started doing the math for MIB (my 18 year-old). His birthday is several months before mine. I was doing the whole, "if I'm this old, and he's that old, he'll be 19 on his next birthday...." Then I realized. I'm not 38!! I'm only 37. I said 38 when Kelly asked me. And then from that moment on 38 was the number in my head. I was 38 and I was still 38 when talking with Ella too. So Ella, I'm not a week older than you. You are just a week shy of being one year older than me. The math works now!
I understand people mistaking themselves for being younger than they really are. They've already been that age. It's easy to forget to add another year as the time quickly ticks away. But why would you add years that haven't been lived yet? I've done this more than just this once!
Do you remember, Crystal, last summer, when I thought I only had one more year before I was 40? How did that happen? I've never considered myself to be bad at math. I actually like math - I used to think I was kinda good at it. I even attribute myself for MIB's great math brain. Hmmm.
Maybe I'm ignorant to my real math skills. Or - maybe I want to be older? Or, maybe I'm trying so hard to keep up with time, that I've passed it by. : >
I really don't feel like a teenager that is just dying to be 18. I'm not even a 30-year old that wishes I was 29 again! I'm quite happy to be 37. I don't want time to fly by any faster than it already does. So, as Rabbit would say, "why, oh why, oh why?"
Today, and until my next birthday, I am 37. 37. 37. 37. Got it. Ella, Kelly and whoever else may have been part of our conversations last night, I am 37, not 38. Wow, the math works so much better when I have the right numbers. Peggy, not only do I admire your story writing skills, evidently, I need to aspire for your math skills as well!!
I really am 37.

And then morning comes...

Some days more than others, it is important to remember that the morning will come again tomorrow! Today feels a little like one of those! I read Leslie's blog about Chris leaving and her new church calling and all I can think is "CHANGE" and tons of it! She is handling it beautifully. That is so helpful to those of us that see the change coming in our own lives. I don't just mean they see change in the future, they see it in the NEAR future! Change is inevitable, it's adventurous, it makes life exciting, it teaches us new things and it's everything we allow it to be. It happens whether we want it to or are ready or not. So, it truly is in our best interest to go with it. (I'm working hard to convince myself. Can you tell?)
The less we resist it, the easier it is. The more we embrace it the more we can grow from it. The more we hope for it, the more fun it will be.
After all, if we never did deal with change - we never would have been born. Think of all the change that children look forward to every day of their lives - and don't they seem to love living life everyday! They enjoy the simple things, find joy in everyday stuff. I love watching children. It is no wonder, once again, that we should be more like little children. They have such a better grasp on living.
Thanks Leslie, for handling the change in your life so eloquently. You are a great example to me! Carry on.

The Heat is ON!

Today I let many of you know that I am blogging. So now the heat is on to blog more frequently. I do suppose that is a good type of heat. There is nothing quite like peer pressure to help me do a good thing. Hmmm. That reminds me of a recent case of peer pressure - just yesterday.

I had been wanting to try something new. Not just anything, but a particular thing. It was something I had heard about numerous times but hadn't been adventurous enough to give it a try. My heart wanted to, but my mind, being so much more practical, had stopped me from the possibly painful experience.
I tried to get others to come along with me. I tried to make it sound very desirable, fun and exciting. But even with all my eagerness, I was unable to convince any of my friends to join in. They warned me, "I've heard it's really hard," "I hear it's addictive," and "I don't want to die." But would I listen? No way! It was one of those times where I was NOT giving into the peer pressure to just let the idea go. I HAD to try it.
The time was right. I had checked the schedules, I had responsible kids at home to be with the youngest so that I could sneak out of the house early. I awoke right on time - no alarm, just roosters (chickens and pheasants) calling in the day and the beautiful sunshine peeking through the blinds. I dressed in the appropriate attire and left the house out the garage door. There was no friend or foe to stop me now. I was doing it. There was no turning back!
When I reached my destination, I stowed my purse under the seat, grabbed my water bottle and carefully strolled to the front door.
Here I scanned my membership card and realized there was no way out. "I may die today," I thought as I scaled the stairs and entered the "spin room." Oh no - there was someone I knew. How could my yoga instructor be here? It was true, not only was she a yoga instructor, but she was the spinning class instructor too.
Needless to say - I survived. Yes, it was hard, but I survived. No death yesterday. All of you who said it shouldn't be done - If I can do it, you can do it. Don't try to be a spin expert the first time. Build up to it. But be aware of the peer pressure.
Here's where the peer pressure I am dealing with now came into play.
Today as I entered the room for my yoga class, Megan, my instructor and I visited for a moment. She was pleased to see me back in Yoga the day after my Spinning experience. I mentioned that my shoulders were really tight, as she had warned they may be, from the previous day's spin class. No big deal. We were a small class (only 2 today) so she suggested we could individualize the class a little. Then it happened. She said she knew my shoulders were tight and asked the other yoga-er if she needed to focus on any particular spot. SO, then we spent some extra time stretching shoulders - for me! Do you see what is happening here? She's helping me out, helping me to deal with the spin class, allowing me no excuse to not return to spin class. She knows I'll be back for yoga. So now will she expect to see me spinning again? There is the pressure - the peer pressure.
I thought I was safe to just, "try it once" - no big deal, I wouldn't get addicted after just one try. But, with the pressure there, I may try it again and maybe again and again. Who knows, Crystal may be right - it may be addictive, and then I'm toast, or rather, I'm spun. Will I give in to yet another spin class? I don't know. Only next week will tell.
But just as peer pressure can encourage one to be consistent with something good, such as blogging more often. It could also pressure one into exercising harder than necessary - which is bad, right? So be cautious when trying new things you've been warned against. There may be some other twist that you never expected.
But by all means - do give spinning a try. You don't have to die. You can simply push yourself hard for you and forget about trying to keep up with everybody else spinning along side you!