Once Again, Change is the Thing

It's Thursday evening and I'm not doing a "Friday Show and Tell - and Twin Update." I will not be posting pictures for a twin update - maybe ever again. It is a sad fact of life, but one I have to live with. I regret terribly, my impulsive deletion of all my pictures on Flickr - I didn't recall the consequence, that all of the pix would disappear from my posts! So sad.


I have not written anything for a week. Many thoughts are running through my mind. I have missed you all during this unexpected, unplanned bloggy break.


9/ll - my sister's birthday for the last 60 years, and the last seven years, a date of infamy. It was hard for my sis to have this birthday for the first few years after the tragedy. I haven't written about my sister, who has always been my best friend. V was born two weeks before my first birthday. We are always "twins" for two weeks. We loved it when we were kids. The only problem - I always knew what I was going to get for my birthday two weeks later. Same at Christmas.


We don't do big birthday gifts in our family, but V and I always do something - sometimes lunch, sometimes breakfast, usually something "autumn-y" for our houses. Today I did something fun. She still teaches (ESL in middle school - English as a Second Language). She's a good teacher. I went back to the middle school my kids attended years ago and surprised her in her classroom. I was glad to see that she has an actual classroom - there have been years when her program was so undervalued that she was stuck in the janitor's closet as her students came to her for their classes. She has one more year of teaching and then we'll be able to get together for lunch more often.


Today I gave her two pictures that I had scanned and framed for her - one frame from H*bby L*bby was specifically for a Sisters picture.

Here we are about 4 and 3 - taken while Dad was in college in St. Paul, Minnesota - Mom would have been all of 22, and was dealing with mono and 3 kids. That's me the blonde, and her with the glasses - she got them at age 2. Note the beautiful wall behind us? We lived in the basement of the boys' dorm - we played church, as always, with me "playing the piano" by sitting backwards on the steps, my little legs swinging as I sat pretending to accompany the singing. Our life was all about church. Hmmm. Some things never change - I'm still accompanying singing at church, mostly on the organ.

We LOVED our circle skirts! This was taken in Heber Springs, Arkansas.

If you hear of anyone who can't find me and would like to be invited to read my private blog, please have them e-mail me so I can add them. It is so sad that this is necessary, but you do what you have to do. I have done a lot of thinking about this blogging thing this week. Why is it so important? Is it important? I came to the conclusion that many of us have lately - it can become consuming and can take up too much time. But it has become such a big part of our lives and we've formed such close friendships that it is hard to fathom saying good-bye forever. So, for me, it IS important - it is a lifeline I have found and has been some of the most fun I've had. Some in my life just don't get it - but for me it's not only prayer support and good laughs and new information and just plain fun to have new friends, but it's been a way to bring writing back into my life, something I had neglected for too long. God has used this for such good - look no further than the healthy twins to validate that fact.

I have been looking at the reality - I will miss making new friends who happen across my site and find something they like. It is sad that someone else's actions have forced me to go underground, so to speak. But, as decided, a private blog is better than none at all - and I can keep in touch with those who really want to.

Thanks for your friendship, your prayers, the enjoyment you have brought me as I've kept up with your lives.

Change - the One Constant

Change.
To make or become different.
Synonyms:
alter, modify, mutate, turn, vary
Source:
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition


Change. It is constant. It is stressful. It is necessary. It is uncomfortable. It can be wonderful. Change is cyclical - one change causes another, which requires another.



I have been experiencing a lot of change lately. Some of it is very positive. We will have the 30th anniversary in our house July 1 (one thing that hasn't changed!) There is a lot that needs to be done to this house. DC is continuing to work awhile longer while drawing Social Security so that we can make some of these improvements.

The first thing on the list was to replace all of our basic appliances - all of them were at least 15 years old. They have served us well. Their time has come - BUT - do you realize how much reading material comes with each new acquisition?



We also recently joined the 21st century and bought cell phones - more directions!!

Do you have any clue how bad I am at reading directions?? Do you have any idea how much I dislike figuring out new technology? Above is a picture of the manuals I have been given over the last month. DC is not happy that I have not read them from cover to cover.

So - the new stove doesn't have a big drawer at the bottom in which to place the pots and pans - where they have lived for 30 years. It has a warming oven instead. The new oven is so much larger that the drawer is so much smaller. This means I had to find a new place for the cookware - I had to empty the cereal out of its home for the last 3 decades, and restructure the cupboards above the stove and microwave - this required reconfiguring that cupboard. This is ONLY THE BEGINNING.

For most of the past 30 years I have been the president of our local mission program in our church. For 17 of those years I was also on the district mission council. This year when election time came, I told the pastor I was ready for a change - this is a change I brought upon myself. It was time.

Our family is going through a major change right now. You have been praying for us without knowing details. For that I am so grateful. It is a painful kind of change.

Today DC and I went through all of the paper work I have to turn in before retirement - I have to decide how much tax I want taken out of my retirement check (can I spell "NONE?").

My task for the next month is writing down everything I do in my job on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. How do I document all the changes that have been made in the last few months in a way someone can easily read and understand? How does one write down in a way someone else can carry on when what I do is so instinctive? I will bring up a document that needs to be sent out, to discover that it is dated exactly one year earlier - how do I pass that on???

Very soon I will walk out of the office I have "lived" in for 15 years. I will dismantle the shelves of "pretties" that have decorated my space. I will have to find a place for them to live in my house. I can hardly wait for all the work of the next month to be done so I can walk into my "changed" life.

I have planned changes beginning July 1. I will go to the gym at least 3 mornings at 8:00 - I am determined to feel better - to get my body back into better shape - I need to feel better about myself again. I need to be able to wear the clothes I have hanging in my closet and not have to buy bigger ones. Positive changes!

This one thing I know. This is the one thing for which I am so very thankful:

Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)