One tidbit we always tell young parents is to not let your children become dependent on a specific bedtime ritual. If your daughter always has to have a story, a song, the blue cup, and the white blankie — in that order, you are setting yourself up for disaster. Some night the blue cup will be missing, and screaming shall ensue.
Instead, we tell parents to teach children several methods for soothing themselves to sleep. Rituals are good, as long as they can be altered slightly without creating chaos.
I should have listened to us.
In the past two weeks, many of my own little rituals have shifted, and I am lost. I’m pretty sure my blue cup got thrown out with the trash, and I may never find it again!
The funny thing is, the changes were all small. And, they were good! We rearranged the living room. It works much better, but my favorite chair is under a different lamp. I upgraded a software program to an online version. Better features, but nothing is in the right place. (Even my accountant was lost the first week.) I finally got a private office for the writing and administrating parts of my jobs, but I can’t find the rhythm between buildings yet, and neither place feels quite like home. And then, a new computer at work. Hurray! With Windows 8. Oh, my.
All these things have unsettled me, and I’m still trying to find my way. I’m truly amazed to learn what a creature of habit I’ve become, and I’m rather ashamed of myself for being so bothered. But I don’t know what to do except press on. Find the beat. Learn the operating system. Go with the flow. (Even when it seems to be flowing uphill instead of down.)
Pray for me, Saints.
And then, tell me how you handle change.
Praying for you for sure.
And one of my most effective ways to handle change is by repeating to myself an encouragement you have given to me many times in many forms: This hard time is only a season. It will NOT last forever, no matter what it is.
Perspective is golden. Pretty soon we’ll have a handle on this new program, this diabolical homework, these new rhythms, this illness, these temper tantrums our 2 years olds throw, and we’ll feel on top of it again.
Either that or we’ll die and go to heaven, either way — WE WIN! 🙂
Thanks for the reminder, Molly Rose! I love when my own words come back to me.
I feel your pain my friend! And I am convinced that Windows 8 is Microsoft’s way of committing Hari Kiri. I am curious which software you went to the cloud instead of desktop.
I still feel a bit adrift after almost 2 years here. Everything changed but it was a great time of stretching and depending even more on the fact that God never changes!
Lori, I switched to Quickbooks Online for the office. I’m loving it now. But it was a crazy first few weeks.
You beat me, though. Moving across country is a much bigger transition than Windows 8!
I don’t know. I think Windows 8 is the bigger challenge. It sure frustrated me more!!
I think sleep deprivation works well. After a time, “whatever” takes over.
For Windows 8, 30 minutes of YouTube videos helped immensely.
You Tube. Brilliant. Thanks, Trey
I am not a huge fan of Windows 8, either. You can choose the desktop window, though, and work from there. It is still the familiar format.