I am Chayayayayanging

(Title courtesy of Dreamgirls)

It was some kind of wonderful to visit the family in Utah.  The days were lovely and filled with lots of great people.  It truly was a week of reuniting.  All the reuniting got me to thinking about how things change.  It was wonderful with many friends to pick up precisely where we left off.  I like those kinds of people.  Other friends, it was very obvious that things had changed.  Nothing between us, but things had simply changed.

  As I was surrounded by tons of folks from the past, I realized what a treasure it is to CHANGE.  I realized that the past eight years since high school have proven to be several years of severe change for me.  

•  I used to be much more high-strung. 
•  I was easily upset by the way people acted. 
•  I felt like it was my job to fix everything for everyone all the time.
• I drank pink lemonade with vanilla like it was going out of style.  Vanilla-Nade, as we called it.
• On the stage and before an audience were the greatest places to be.
• I basically got ready in the mornings to make sure that people at school would think I looked good.

8 years ago.  Apparently, another thing that has changed is the size of my waist.  Woah.

But that was then and I'm grateful for the experiences that have molded me into something different.  I'm excited for eight more years to see who I can become by then!

• Now, I'm about 100 times more relaxed than before (we have my sweet husband to thank for that.)
• I don't have the energy to get worked up about the way other people act, so the overreacting has dissipated.
• I love loving people.  Plenty of people have loved me with mounds of imperfections for years and I've realized what a blessing it is.
• I still love being on the stage, but the tables have turned.  I don't love it so that everyone else can love me.  I love it because it is fun and it makes me feel good.  Even if there was no audience, I'd probably still perform a whole show just because it makes me smile.
• NOW I get ready in the mornings because it makes me feel good about myself.  I can be much more confident with combed hair and a little color on the cheeks than my pajama clad self can walking down the aisles of Walmart.

Looking classy and pregnant as can be with my sweet, sweet cousin Erin  just last Sunday.  Due only days apart!

So anyway, change is important, growth is essential, and I feel sorry for those who haven't changed a bit in eight years.  Actually, I think it might be important to change a little bit every single day.  For example, what can I be better at today than I was yesterday (basically everything...yesterday was not my best)?  Who can I treat kinder today than I treated yesterday?  Who can I keep in my heart today to think about all day and send positivity their way?  How can I be better to my body today than I was yesterday (again...it's not going to be tough)?

So, I wonder what I can change today?
What are you going to change today?