Late in life my world changed dramatically.  Thinking I was experiencing menopause, I visited my OB-GYN.  After examining me and taking a few tests, he informed me that I didn’t need hormone therapy but instead I needed prenatal vitamins.  I remember saying, “Excuse me?”  It was a shock but as it turned out, it was the best thing.  Not planned, not expected but certainly welcomed, appreciated and loved.

Motherhood dramatically changes your life in ways unimagined.  Your priorities and your perspectives change. You no longer focus on your needs and wants but on the needs of a fairly helpless, small human.

My point?  No matter when your life takes a turn, you can and you do change.  Embrace the change with hope, enthusiasm, and appreciation. Remember, not all people are so lucky.

My daily life changed immediately and in ways unimaginable.  First, I become a near germaphobe.  I didn’t even know what that was exactly but fear overcame me when thinking about taking this small being out in public!  All those strangers with strange germs and in general, just germs everywhere in the atmosphere.  I was a near nut-case!  Do you notice I keep saying “near”?  Well, that is probably what saved me in the end.  I wasn’t completely a loose cannon.

I do remember all so well the first time I took her out in public and to a grocery store to boot.  I had to keep taking deep breaths as these people, especially elderly folks, kept coming up to me and trying to touch my baby.  They kept saying, “She’s so angelic.  Can I just touch her?”  No, keep your hands off her.  I didn’t say that, but I for sure thought it. 

Then there was the first time I attempted at dressing my baby which nearly threw me into a psychotic rage.  How do I get this shirt and pants on this baby whose limbs are limp and won’t go in the garment?  I kept trying to no avail and the baby kept staring at me! 

And they say babies don’t focus until after 6 weeks or more?  My doctor said when she came out of the womb, “I’ve never seen a newborn who is so focused and is staring directly at my face!  You have your hands cut out for you!”  Well, on that note, he was right!  In a good way though.

You may think I was just being ridiculous and probably on some level, you are right.  But it was all about change.  Change is inevitable, and like I said, often unexpected.  I had spent 44 years being who I was, doing what I wanted to do, going where I wanted to go and on my schedule.  Guess what, now my priorities were way down if not on the bottom of the priority list. There was the new baby, the husband, the house and yard, my job and, oh yeah, then me.

Life had dramatically changed and, as I learned, forever changed. There were new skills I had to learn, new patterns I had to develop, and a new level of patience I had to entertain.  People always told me I had the patience of Job.  Until now, that was probably true but with constrained time, increased responsibility, stress, and no sleep, something had to change.

And there it is again, that word CHANGE.    Yes indeed, change.  Well, what I have learned is that you can’t fight it.  You might as well go with it and do so with a great attitude.  Otherwise, it can consume you.  And for many, it does. 

I am here to share the wisdom I learned and earned in hopes that it gives you pause and allows you to accept with open arms, change.  It can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Which would you choose?