Seasons change….and so do we
“Can I handle the seasons of my life? Oh, oh, I don’t know….” - Stevie Nicks
The squirrels are about, burying nuts and leaving them in all sorts of crazy places. They are a sign, along with that first fire red leaf to appear on the Burning Bush, that change is in the air. Our glorious Michigan summer, graciously extended into October this year, is coming to a close, and boot season is just around the corner. Flip flops and t-shirts are comfortable and hard to leave behind, even if cozy sweaters and cuddle alerts have their own special attraction. I can’t have them at the same time, of course. Rather smugly, I have always thought I was pretty good at embracing the concept of “Change is here, so it’s best to go with the ride.” Until this season.
Not long ago, I was blessed to learn my son and his wife were expecting a child. Big emotions followed the news, and I was surprised to discover that one of them, along with joy and excitement, was resistance. A grandmother? ME? Not possible; I’m too young. It can’t be time to recognize the passing of another of life’s seasons, the one that makes me an old lady. Nevertheless, change is here.
The sense of loss can come even when you are given one of life’s greatest gifts. It’s OK to have conflicting emotions. You can mourn the closing of one chapter while your heart swells at the opening of another. The peace comes with knowing that goodbyes make way for hellos, and when we allow ourselves to let go, we find we have space to greet what is meant for us in this new season.
Self-care is never more important than when there is a seismic shift in your life. It’s not indulgent. It’s essential nourishment for the journey ahead. Build rituals around your own renewal.
Nature doesn’t resist its own cycles. The apple tree doesn’t try to be a tomato plant. Autumn doesn’t try to be summer. There is a wisdom in this surrender, in working with the season rather than against it. Trust that there is beauty in the letting go.
The season is changing. And you – glorious, complicated, wholly human, you – are changing with it.
Now go wash your hands.
Love,
d