Change is coming

This week I'm enjoying lakeside fun with my fiance, my sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Oh, how precious these times are. My oldest grandson leaves for college this fall; so it won't be long before they will all peel off to college and not long after, to begin lives of their own somewhere. That will be a fun stage in their lives and in our life together, too, and I know it will mean change. Each stage has its own joys and blessings. For now I want to savor each moment of our time together.

And I want to prepare myself for the change when Spencer goes off to college and for the changes coming as each of them leaves home.

Change. It's something so many of us resist. Yet it's inevitable. Preparing for the changes (when we know they're coming) can help us get through. I often imagine what my life will be like after a major change. Then I can make choices about how I will face that change and what I will do. Many changes come upon us completely unbidden, and we have no time to prepare. And with some changes, we simply can't foresee what our new normal will look like. Insofar as it's possible, however, try to prepare. I know it helps me a great deal if I can have some images of that new normal and make some choices in shaping it.

What do you do when change is coming? And how do you savor each moment before the change and after? Think about a time when you mentally prepared for a change in your life. Journal about what helped you through that change. See what life skills you used—and remember that you still have those skills.