Changing Seasons...

I love fall.  I love the colors, the crisp fall air, the comfort that comes with spending time and sharing good food with friends and family, Yes, even football.  This year fall looks a bit different for this family.  We were used to the view of a country setting with miles of changing trees, dirt roads, and wildlife in our back yard.  We are finding that moving into this new house as brought a new picture of fall to us.  We still have changing trees.  However, not as many.  The closest thing to wildlife we have found here are the chipmunks that come up on the front porch and antagonize our poor little shih Tzu (Phoebe).  We traded the dusty dirt road for a nice paved blacktop.  Although we miss the serenity and scenery, we have come to appreciate these newer experiences.  For one thing, there is less mud and dirt being dragged into the house.  I can not tell you how much work this has saved us.  Another thing that we have found is that we absolutely love our new neighborhood.  It is so nice to be around people.  We have all ages in this neighborhood.  I look out and watch some of the younger children playing in the neighborhood and it brings back memories of our own children when they were younger.  Then I look the other direction and see older neighbors and it is like looking into the future 20 years from now.  I guess you could say that everything we have been through in the last 3 years with being ill, moving, and having one of our sons move from home has awakened my thought process. 

It is funny.  When you are young and first starting out, you and your spouse have plans and ideas of what you imagine your life to be like.  Then 15 to 20 years later, you find yourself reflecting and thinking that things turned out so differently then you planned.  Paul and I are learning that isn't such a bad thing.  If things had worked out the way we had planned them in the beginning, I think we would be rather unhappy people today.  Oh sure, there were hard times.  However, we have always operated on the belief that God has a plan for our family and He has always taken care of us.  I have to believe that we are where He wants us to be.  Not sure on the reason, yet.  But I am sure it is for a good purpose.  One thing is for certain, there are more changes going on here then just the seasons.  This family has learned to embrace change.  It's much easier then fighting it.  Turns out it is way more rewarding in the end, too.  For years we were determined to put a house on our own property.  When that didn't work out, we decided to take a different path.  Looking back, it worked out the way it was suppose to.  Like I always say, "God's plan, on God's time, for God's purpose."