New Beginnings

We are empty nesters after 26 years. Time has finally moved Dan and I into a new role in our lives. We enjoyed the weekend celebrations of JoAnn’s graduation party and ceremony.  We celebrated having all the kids home since this becomes more rare with each passing year. We enjoyed having family and friends come to congratulate JoAnn and offer advice on how to adjust to an empty nest. We set off fireworks in celebration of JoAnn and all her accomplishments and to bring in our new empty nest status with a bang!

New beginnings can be scary but yet they can hold so much excitement and anticipation about what the next journey will be. JoAnn asked people to highlight a favorite verse in the bible that had significant meaning to them. The variety of verses that were highlighted just shows that everyone’s path is different and unique. With each new adventure you discover more about yourself and the world around you. I was thinking about the three graduations in my own personal life and how they were the same or different. The common thread in all of them was the new beginnings that followed. Three separate times in my life where I could consider myself having a fresh start. A whole new direction that would propel me towards the future that God had planned for my life. This month is 30 years since I graduated from ISU College of Veterinary Medicine. In those 30 years, I have been married to the same wonderful man. I gave birth to 4 amazing children that have grown into even more amazing adults. I have lived in 2 states, 6 different houses, and in 4 different school districts.  I have owned more vehicles than I care to remember. I was a business owner of my own practice, worked for a corporate practice, and have practiced as an associate in multiple practices. I have been a stay at home mom, a weekly volunteer at elementary schools, a youth leader along with Sunday School teacher at church, and a mom volunteer at fundraisers for the numerous organizations that our 4 kids became involved in. With each of these events and activities, I discovered more about myself and what is important in my life.

New beginnings have been common in these past 30 years. I sometimes felt guilty that our children did not get to live in the same home and school district their entire lives like my husband and I did. Yet, then I think about how often we must accept change and new beginnings in our lives. I recognize how experiencing those things early in their lives has helped shape them into the confident adults that they are. They have had to adapt to change along-side Dan and myself. With those new beginnings, we have seen them stumble, but also quickly pick themselves back up, brush off the fears and frustrations, and push forward with more confidence and determination than ever. They have come to discover that new beginnings are something to embrace and conquer. Knowing that the future holds more adventures that will help propel them into this game of life. We can try to plan every step, but if you forget to side step along the way, you will miss opportunities.

If you are facing new beginnings in your life at this time, try to find the positive in every moment as you move forward. In the Lion King movie, Simba and Rafiki talk about how the winds are changing and how change is good but not easy. I am ready to embrace the winds of change and open my life to any and all opportunities and new beginnings.

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