Transition

I found myself in Trader Joe’s standing in the aisle remembering what they had said, “enjoy every moment,” “in a blink this will pass,” “they will be up and out in no time.” They were right, those wise mothers. As I stood in the aisle, I found myself staring at a little girl not more than 2 years old, with a pink bathing suit and sandals. She was leisurely walking, eating her snack and taking in the sights. She was in no hurry, although her mother was. I smiled, as she slowly passed in front of my shopping cart. Her mother apologized for her daughter’s dawdling. I replied, “oh, please don’t apologize, she is precious.”

What I wanted to tell her was that it’s all true, what they say. Enjoy every moment. In a blink of an eye she will be grown up and leaving for new adventures. Watching this little one cross my path made me smile and tear up. I wanted to tell this mom that one of mine has flown from the nest and the second one is about to. How is it possible that I am even old enough to say that? I suppose the gray hair that won’t go away and the etched crows feet would reveal we are not contemporaries.  I thought to myself, cherish each moment and certainly don’t rush them. Your little one will fly away sooner than you think.

“Change is good. Change is good,” I keep saying. If I tell myself enough times I am sure to believe it. If we don’t change, we can’t grow, and if we don’t grow, we are left in the arms of complacency. Change requires transition and transition can be difficult to get through. As a mother, the most difficult transition I can think of is childbirth, from womb to arms. And many years later, this transition feels similar.

There are countless transitions we go through in life. Some may be more innocuous and some more daunting. The questions stir…Have I done all I could do? What will this look like? Am I really ready? Can I get through this? I like it the way it used to be… and on and on. It is difficult to stop transitions once they begin. And funny how once they pass, we forget and they become a distant memory.

Transitions gives births to change and change brings forth something new. To embrace the new, we must say good-bye to what was, and no one likes good-bye’s. Like childbirth, transitions are painful. Recognize this place called transition, if you are in one, and if necessary, shed some tears. Saying good-bye is hard.

Our journey is made up of many transitions. I am acknowledging I am in one now and leaning in on trust, trusting that God will take better care of my chicks than I will. Although I don’t know what it will look like on the other side of this transition, I am allowing myself the time and grace to journey through it, knowing that the chicks can’t learn to fly if they don’t leave the nest.

So, in the meantime, I will stand in this place called transition, acknowledge it, and trust God to show me the pass-through to the other side. And it’s okay if I shed some tears.