In nature it is usually Spring when everything seems to change and the plants and trees renew themselves. Sometimes seeds that were carried in the wind bloom in a new location and trees that lost branches sprout new ones.

Wait a minute, wait a minute!

Okay, I was trying to write some beautiful analogy to all the changes occurring and due to occur in the lives of the various members of my family over this summer. As soon as I started to write comparing their life changes with Springtime and nature I think I heard music building in the background. A butterfly flew by my ear and whispered compare them to me. I looked down and saw ants marching in a line carrying breadcrumbs chanting, "Talk about how hard it is for us to move stuff; it's many times our body weight."

Snapped back to reality (and a little concerned that the voices I am hearing are not just the ones in my head)let me simply say - this summer is going to be one of numerous changes and opportunities for new beginnings.

To name just a few:

Each of my sons and their families are moving. Jim, Carol, Jake and Jonah only a few miles from their current residence. Tom, Shelia, Hope and Noah will be moving to Mississippi from Tennessee.

Carol has a new church and Tom a new position and responsibilities with Nissan.

David is about to begin his quest to become the bionic man and will be receiving a new knee compliments of the Veterans Administration in return for his service in the Navy.

My sister, Wendy and her husband Lamont, having touched the lives of many through their Yoga Studio, are about to explore new and exciting ways to continue their work and passion.

My niece Caitlyn has graduated with honors from high school and will be leaving home for college later this summer.

My niece Valerie and her husband Heath and son Duncan are about to welcome a new daughter into their family.

In fact, everyone in my family is experiencing some degree of change this summer. To list them all would take pages and no doubt there would be several I would miss. Many changes I am sure I am not even aware of yet; but that is exactly the point.

Everyday there are changes occurring. Some make us happy, some are frightening, some make us sad and many weren't predicted. It is the unforecastable changes in our lives that can really throw us a curve!

May all the changes in your life ultimately take you in the direction of your dreams and bring you great happiness.

Below are a few of my favorite quotes on the subject. Enjoy your day!

Nothing we can do can change the past, but everything we do changes the future.
Ashleigh Brilliant

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen

Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.
Faith Baldwin

The key to change, is to let go of fear.
Rosanne Cash

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
Maria Robinson

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
Mary Engelbreit

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.
Robert C. Gallagher