Day 6: Character Trait

The character trait I'm grateful for today is one that I've had to grow more than one that comes naturally, and that is adaptability. I tend to have an idea, once I start down a path, of how life is going to look both day-to-day and also 5, 10, and 15 years out with following that path. The thing I've had to learn about life is that it doesn't work so predictably as to be planned out neatly for decades into the future. There will be surprises, curve balls, and challenges that force you to pivot. There will be things about both you and your family members that make what seemed like the best life path turn out to not be so anymore as time goes on. 

•  Vocation-wise: I've learned how to be a stay-at-home mom and a homeschool mom for a good chunk of my adult life when I never in a million years would have envisioned that life for myself; and now, over the last couple years, am learning how to transition back into the workforce after so many years away. 
• For everyone who raises kids: you see that the only predictable thing is change over time. Just when you get the hang of one stage, they are on to the next, and each stage comes with increasing independence and a need to trust the kids more rather than try to control everything. 
•  In my line of work, the cases are extremely dynamic, so it very frequently happens that you have conversations and do research and make plans based on one set of facts and then things have already changed by the time it gets to the decision making deadline. Everyone in this work world has to learn how to plan and move forward with plans, but stay adaptable for changes at any time.

All of this has been stretching and growing and teaching that me how to re-invent, how to be a beginner in middle age, and how to adapt to what life demands of you at different times. I'm grateful for that lesson, which I think I have grown in but which will also continue to be a lifelong learning project.