CHANGES

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time"       
          David Bowie

In many place of the world, September signals a time of change. From the time we are 4 years old it means a change of pace from the lazy, sometime boring days of summer to the busy, hectic pace of a new school year. We are conditioned to it after years of doing this transition. So even though I don't have little kids bustling about, making sure back packs are ready, lunches are packed, school supplies are bought and new clothes are laid out, I still feel a change in the air.

I have my own changes to deal with. My globe-trotting daughter is now living in Oxford, England where she starts her new teaching job tomorrow. I skyped with her today - she is terrified and excited and expects this transitional week will be unsettling until she gets her bearings. Her boyfriend will be heading over the end of this month to attend Oxford University so she will soon have company. Randi was having a little trouble finding a place to live but she eventually did find one. She skyped with us Friday night and the conversation went something like this.
"So I think I've found a place to live."
"Tell me about it Honey!"
"Well, it has pros and cons to it.The pros are it is a great family and I really connected with the mother. There are two lovely little girls. The neighborhood is great, the price is right and I only have to walk down the road to catch the bus to work! They are Muslim but they have no problem with me being Christian."
"Sound good to me - what are the cons?"
"The cons are I can't eat pork in the house, I have to dress modestly and Dan (boyfriend) is not allowed to step foot in the house....."
Ok.... from a mother's point of view, I'm not seeing any cons here.....no pork, no skivies and no men....works for me!
My son headed off to University for his last year also. Less than 10 minutes after he drove away, our ballerina, Nami returned from a month in Japan to spend the school year with us. 

So my household has changed over. I feel the change in the air. 

And Time may change me, but I can't Trace time.