Change

I've always been a big champion of change. Change your roommates. Change your hair. Change your city. Change your job. And most importantly, change your underwear.

But a shocking reality of life is that as you get older, and the stakes get higher, change becomes a wee bit harder.

In September, as Lane and I looked forward to (and welcomed) a big change in our life (re-entering the world of home ownership), situations changed that changed our plans and our life in shocking ways. Lane lost his job, one of my closest and best friends died, and I was pregnant. (How long did it take you to read that sentence? Yes, that's how fast it happened for me too.)

So Lane and I DID move. Just not into a home we owned. Family rallied for us and we took my parents up on an offer to live with them while Lane looked for new job opportunities. 

I don't want to lie here, all this unexpected change was HARD. I suppose I had welcomed change so flippantly in my young adulthood because it was change that I put into motion.

And now comes a huge, wonderful, yet bittersweet change for our little family. 

Lane has a job in Texas, so off we go to the Longhorn State again. We get to live by Lane's sister, we have wonderful friends in the area, living costs are more reasonable, and it's a good place to raise your family. If we had to move anywhere, this is where I would want to go. And a big benefit for me? The area is a test market and every restaurant and store imaginable is within close proximity.

The downside? We're half a country away from both our parents and lots of siblings. We leave more good friends that we've made. 

Big change can bring the big blessings. We get the miracle of a new little member to our family. We've got to spend lots of time together as a little family. We've got to watch as Jane has attached herself so dearly to grandparents and cousins. And we've grown stronger as a couple.

"Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. ... This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now." President Thomas S. Monson, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oct. 2008

Change. I've come to the labored conclusion that there is nothing I can do but accept it, embrace it, and find the joy and blessings in my life right now.

I've been a little tardy in sharing this news. Things are happening sooner than you'd think. Lane left last night and Jane, Cosmo, and I (and subsequently David) leave in about 2 weeks.