It seems like the last several years I have constantly been "in transition." I find myself wrapping up one part of my life and waiting for the next part to begin. Starting a marriage. Waiting for graduation and a first job. Changing homes. Waiting on a baby. Changing jobs. Changing jobs. Waiting for a raise. Ending a marriage.
It's no secret I feel I've learned a lot over the past year or two. One of the things I have learned is that being "in transition" doesn't mean I have to put my life on hold. In fact, some of my best living has been done "in transition." Somewhere along the way I have picked up the skills I need to evolve into the woman I envision for myself.
Four months ago when Chloe and I inhabited this home by ourselves for the first time, I was scared. Friends and family added to my worry, magnifying the things that I was already concerned about. How will you make ends meet? What will you cut out? Too bad you have a car payment. Too bad you have to drive so far to work. Won't you be scared? Who will watch Chloe when you have work duties? I quickly made a decision not to WORRY about the transition, but to LIVE it.
By being active rather than sitting back and worrying, I have actually made a difference in my own life. Somehow I'm running my household very similarly on half the income. I've always budgeted money fairly well, but now I'm using every trick I can come by, like buying my meat the day I am cooking it, so I can get it half price. Cutting back on TV channels, and turning my thermostat up two degrees. It's amazing how much the little stuff adds up.
I may be in some kind of transition for the rest of my life. I can't die waiting to live. Now is the time. I have learned to live each day and take it for what it is, good or bad. I now know that this too, shall pass, whether it's good or bad. I'm cherishing the good things, brushing off the bad, and learning how to be happy for the very first time.
Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it.
