change

Sedum image by Mabel Amber on Pixabay

Tomorrow is September 1st. Although we’re back to rather warm weather right now in northern Virginia, fall is not far behind. If you don’t believe me, just pop in to any store and you’ll find sugary-to-a-fault candy corn, costumes scary enough to make grown men wet their pants, and hideous spider-related decorations for your home.

I’ve written before about transitions being helpful when designing a home (see link below). And audiences are more able to follow and understand a speaker who gently leads them from one topic to another by using transitional words and phrases. Similarly, the mid-Atlantic area weather helps us prepare for what’s coming next by gradually lowering the temperature.  We gradually become used to shorter days since the amount of daylight has been decreasing by about a minute a day since June 21. The flowers that flourished in the summer heat have now waned, while the sedum that blooms late summer through fall has begun to strut its stuff.

Yes, autumn is on the way.

A transitional season is a wonderful time to reflect on personal changes as well.

Here’s the thing: I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. My 69th birthday isn’t far off, and so you’d think I would be pretty settled by now. But I have all these ideas in my head about what I want to do with the rest of my life, and I’m having difficulty in fitting them all into a seven-day week.

The biggest “for instance” is named Grace. We just adopted her, a sweet beagle mix, from the SPCA.  Just having this three-year-old added to the household is taking up a lot of time because she acts like a puppy when it comes to playtime demands. Well, also she is cute as a button and I can’t resist spending time with her. One of the reasons I chose her is because I recognized she would be perfect as a Pet Therapy dog. Our hospital’s program is in dire need of more therapy dogs to visit patients. Getting Grace certified will take some intensive training time for both of us.

Meanwhile, I have been seriously considering closing down my speaking business at the end of this year. If I close the business then I shut down my website which means I don’t have a home for this blog. Then earlier this month I heard from two business professionals who engaged my services. The calls came within days of each other. God, is that you saying not yet?

Here is my compromise for the short-term: Instead of two posts a week, you’ll be hearing from me just once on Fridays. I do love writing and keeping the connections open with all of you. And I am so grateful for all of you, my readers. I enjoy reading your comments and hearing in-person feedback.

Change is good. It builds new neural pathways as well as character. Change brings new people and ideas into your life. Thanks for traveling with me as I embrace some life changes.

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Leaving the Outside, a 2016 post about my home’s transitions

Article on building new neural pathways