Change

Cheesy to quote You’ve Got Mail? Maybe. But the quotes in this gem are countless. When I think of what it would look like when I “make it” in the publishing world I imagine a world that only the likes of Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers could create while in tandem dreaming to write as only they do. A jazzy, Doris Day tune in the background, while I write in the quiet of my spotless home, complete with a Diane Keaton turtleneck and warm cuppa joe not far off.

Laughable at this moment, as I sit in my cramped office with the tune of VeggieTales in the muted distance, hair in a bun and a stained t-shirt. Hey, the cuppa joe is still there, does that mean progress toward my goal?

Back to why I post this today. I feel the seasons are going to change and if you’ve followed me in the slightest you know these changes are my favorite. Out with the old and in with the new, of sorts. Change is great when you see it coming, when you know how to plan for it. But change when it smacks you out of nowhere and forced on you? If life were a cartoon, you’d be left with stars circling your head with an accompaniment of circus-like music. We don’t like that kind of change. I don’t.

I wish I could say I handle myself with grace when change hits me out of the blue, but it’s not pretty. It shouldn’t be. Change can be ugly and hurt in the strangest and unlikeliest of places. When we are forced to change the trajectory of our hunky-dory life, we’re thrown off the tracks. We’re left frantically trying to piece together any semblance of what “normal” looked like before the change. It’s human nature to reach and grab onto anything that reminds us of what used to be. So how do we manage it better? I’m not sure that’s an easy answer or if there even is an answer. Y’all forgive me for my heavy use of quotes here, but my favorite way to change the way I think when I’m going through something unimaginable is “To do the next right thing”. Yes, it’s from Frozen II, but it’s incredibly simple and instructive.

Do the next right thing. If for you that looks like as simple as getting dressed or as hard as getting through the day without crying in public, continue putting one foot in front of the other. It will get easier. Keep pushing. And know you’re never alone.

I’ll leave you with a final quote from YGM, “It will all shake out. Meanwhile, I’m putting up more twinkle lights.”