Transitions

Anna Quindlan is leaving Newsweek magazine, she feels it's time let younger people have a shot at her spot in the world. Either she is leaving of her own accord, or she is experiencing a life transition because it is time. So, we readers are having to transition as well.

Everywhere I look right now I see transitions. I'm preferring not to call it CHANGE, the election season of '08 made that particular word ubiquitous - so I'll talk about transition here. Actually, I think it's a better word for what I am seeing and experiencing.

We just transitioned a college son back into our home - more specifically to his old room. Which had become my office. This led to my desk needing to be moved into what had become the husbands office, formerly my older sons bedroom. This, in turn, caused the husband to convert an armoir in the den into a computer cabinet/desk for himself; his beloved roll-top desk that I never cared for had made its way into the former bedroom of older son - and now doesn't work well anywhere in the house. The roll-top is now for sale - actually, I'd pay someone to get it out of here at this point. This is my current, most immediate transition. Today happens to be college sons birthday, emotional transition.

I'm traveling a lot these days for my job, which I really enjoy. However, the husband is traveling less and is now home more than I am and this is new for us. This has been a rockier transition for me, really don't know how he views it, I'm sort of scared to ask.

Our minister, Roger, is retiring - and he's really working hard to ease us into this transition. We've got to let him go in order to make room for the new guy. We've had a year of parties, sermons, dinners, guest preachers, you name it - to prepare for this. He should feel that he is leaving us well and okay, he's done a great job. New guy starts in August and collectively, we're looking forward to it because Roger has given us permission - transition can go forth.

As wise people have said, the only thing you can be sure of is change. Transition is the way we move from one thing to another. This word is one that all of us would be good to learn to love and accept, because it's sort of life's essence - change and transition.