Anymore you turn on the television and all you hear is the word 'change'. You hear Obama preaching it. You hear McCain swearing that he will change things and that he is not like Bush. Change, change, change! Do you believe it? Do you believe them? Personally whenever I hear one of them spouting the 'C' word, I 'change' the channel! That's my kind of way of making 'change' happen! But, in all seriousness, there is another kind of change that goes on in our lives. That 'change' IS our lives. Think about it, especially if you are a mother like I am. You carry your baby within you for nine months. You feel him or her grow, move, and change with each passing month. Then you have your baby and your life does a complete change. It is no longer about you. Personal selfishness cast aside, it becomes all about the baby 24 hours a day and 7 days a week for the next eighteen years! You are responsible for another human being. It is a huge undertaking, whether we realize it as young mothers or not, to have a baby is a life changing experience! And you go through all of the phases, from terrible twos, to tweens and teens, to report cards and homework, and learning to grow within a household. You cook for them, clean for them, and watch their sizes get bigger as they grow from year to year. You watch your baby's face grow from babyhood to manhood (or womanhood) right before your eyes. The baby you once held is now making his/her own decisions on their life and even though you still cling to that baby within, you realize that when your child grows up that it is such a huge change, that you must find yourself changing and adapting to it as well. And that's the hard part. You cry often and reminiss about sweet memories. You wish that you could change the years back, although you know that you can't. Things change. Children grow up. You grow older. Life moves on in a consistent manner. Life changes. A person needs to find a way to be ready for it. And it's certainly not easy by any means. When you see your child leave home and you know that the next time you see them, he/she will be a different person, you find yourself weeping on your pillow at night and remembering that baby you once held so tiny and small in your arms is now making his way in the world. You have to realize that just as you left to find your way, so must your children, and geeze, when you love, it's so difficult. But, if you can find it in your heart to let go alittle and still love alot, then you will make it through this change and both you and your child will be all the better for it. Don't think for one second that your child doesn't love you because he/she is moving into their own life. It is because of you and the way that you brought them up that they probably love you even more at this time of their life than you even realize. So to that I say, try to adjust to the changes that come your way. They are constant and they aren't going to go away somewhere. You can't go back to what once was, so you must make a point to make what is, even better. Change is constant and so can your love be!
