Changes

I read this analogy once that was in an article meant for parents with special needs children.  It said something to the effect of:  Imagine you have scheduled a long vacation to Sweden. You packed all the right stuff.  You scheduled your places to stay and made plans for places to visit once you arrive.  You tried to prepare for every detail for your adventure.  But something happened, and when you landed, you were not in Sweden, you landed in Norway. What will you do?

Will you pretend everything is as planned and you really ARE in Sweden?  Will you wear inappropriate clothes?  Will you complain to a confused valet?  Will you demand the receptionist find some reservations that are actually non-existent?  Or will you take a minute and let go of your other plans and adjust to your new environs?  The original author said it better, and a friend tells me that there isn’t actually much difference between Sweden and Norway.  Consequently, I took that as a challenge and will now make up my own analogy on the fly.

My name is Jill and I have spent the last quarter century in Virginia.  Virginia is a great place to be, although you really never know what weather you will wake up to.  This can be confusing and annoying but it is not insurmountable.  You know, wear a T-shirt and leave a sweater or a coat in the car.  Recently, circumstances have moved me to Czechoslovakia.  Well, I thought I was in Democratic Czechoslovakia since the last information I had on the country came from a 1980’s time-frame and map. Apparently the 1990’s saw Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and  Slovakia.  I have so far amassed several maps of the region, but have yet to find one that truly describes this new landscape.   I was nonchalant about the weather when I lived in Virginia.  I had the general idea of the range and being unaware of the detailed temperatures was something I had adjusted to.  This place…I have no knowledge.  I am sure I will adjust to my new country by the simple fact that, like Dorothy, I am not telling myself I am still in Virginia.  I am checking the weather daily but each one has a unique temperature.  Additionally, there isn’t actually a single yellow-brick road to follow.   Like the parents that must adjust to a new normal, I will need to figure it out as I go.  In fact, I  think I will call my place of residence a “realm” and take up the Queen’s scepter.  I will try to take the advice of  Theodore Roosevelt, who said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”  Some days life in the realm will suffer from the second best thing that I do.  I will shoot for more of the best things and let the chips fall where they may.  I am the Queen, after all.

Life in my realm will be full of a variety of music so I will share an old classic rock one that has come to mind lately.  Enjoy.