Turn, turn, turn.

So I have been thinking about change a lot lately. There is something kind of exciting about change isn't there? I love when the seasons change, I love when a new year comes along, I like it when people walk in with a new color of hair - I can't even keep the same wallpaper on my computer for longer than about a day before I am ready for... you guessed it... a change.

He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. ~Harold Wilson

I believe that change is good, generally. Granted, at my age I have witnessed some changes that didn't end up being for the better, but if we did not have change in the first place we would have no basis for comparison. We would just idle along in the same way forever, and that doesn't seem productive or even rational.

I am undergoing a big series of changes right now in my life. My kids are all grown and essentially they are all adults and on their own. I am changing my attitudes about motherhood and I am going through a little bit of the old "looking back" period in my life and trying to assess how the next part is supposed to go. I think I have it figured out now. The change I see coming is going to be exciting in some ways and in others, it's a little sad. I miss my "little" kids, but I love my adult kids. I am happy with the memories we have forged together as a family, and I think I have a lot to be proud of. Would I change anything about what we did? Actually, not a lot. It was fun, but it is time for life to change a little now.

Tomorrow or the next day I will see my studio boxed up and empty. It is a very strange change, to be sure. However, it is going to provide me with a new set of challenges and opportunities that I very much look forward to.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. ~Anatole France

I will always remember the good times that I have had as a mom, and I will look forward to more good times of a different sort with my children as we all grow older. I am so lucky to have them, and as we add to the family, I feel that I am gaining - not losing anything. I have a beautiful daughter-in-law now that I didn't have this time last year. I suspect that one day I will be a grandmother. That will be so exciting and usher in some great times, I feel sure! Until that time arrives, I will cherish the transition.

I am going through a career transition as well. Getting to know a new faculty and staff at a new building, adding to my professional family, and building a new studio experience that will be exciting and fresh is something that I very much look forward to as I cherish the memories of the studio that built it all. The DJCC students, faculty and staff will never be forgotten but the "change" for me is going to be good. I can't wait to get the next era underway!

There are but two greatest things... the love of art and the art of love.