Seasons and Change

“I’m a freshman, Dad,” said my son.

“Yup, he’s fresh meat!” replied my daughter.

Their exchange reminded me of how I used to talk with my sisters. We teased each other out of love. After my son filled his hair with gel and my daughter got dressed, they packed their book bags, and we climbed into the car.

On the ride to school, I tried to remember, but forgot what my parents had said to me on my first day of high school.

“Surround yourself with positive people, be respectful to your teachers, and keep your pants on your waist,” is what came out.

“I know. I know, Dad,” is how they responded.

Life’s seasons change.

Summers never last long enough.

Spring is short.

Winters extend for ages.

Like Octavia Butler once wrote in her novel, Parable of the Sower, “All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.”

Change is our only constant.

The children finish school in June, and in two months they return. In the middle of the summer, the first day of school feels far away. Within weeks, school resumes.

Subtle shifts in the weather occur without our awareness. In minutes, the wind transforms from a breeze into a powerful force. Ask Chicagoans how the city lived up to its nickname this week.

The Windy City ripped trees from their roots as tornadoes swept through communities.

To remain in a constant state of preparation is exhausting but necessary for personal and professional evolution. We must read, learn, apply, and teach to experience growth.

This week, I dropped two children off at high school; the youngest rode his bike to junior high. It’s hard to believe my little ones aren’t as little as they used to be. They went from cradling bottles to holding cellphones overnight.

Trends, hormones, and attitudes dictate the moods of my three teenagers.

Sometimes they want to play, and at other times the desire to scroll TikTok dominates. When screen time occupies too much of their time, I intervene and mandate that they pick up a book to read. I hope their transition to another school year goes smoothly.

While I don’t remember what my parents said on my first day of high school, I can recall my first experiences walking the halls of 9^th grade. Everyone appeared much older and bigger than me.

I’m still short, so I’ve grown accustomed to looking up at people. But where genetics predetermined my height, my capacity to learn, think, and grow in other ways continues. I am not special.

You can also experience the opportunities that come during every season of life. Reevaluate your last failure and look for the lesson. Reflect long enough, and you will find a jewel to take with you into the next leg of your journey.

Savor being “fresh meat” and chew on new challenges. They may be difficult to digest in the moment, or hard to handle, but something beneficial will come from your tenacity.

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This post was previously published on Vernon C. Lindsay, PhD.

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