Change. 11-5-11

The time changes early tomorrow morning. The leaves on the trees are falling everywhere. It's change, but it's the same sort of change I experience every year. I've lived here for almost 2 years. My neighborhood seems quite familiar now, with the exception of a few people moving in and moving out of the neighborhood. Winnie decided to go blonde today, but this is much the same: she is a magnet for fresh paint, like the cat that tries to run from Pepe LePew. I'm in the midst of my typical remodeling. I pick mostly the same wall colors in every house; I still have the same couch, chair, coffee table, and bedroom suit that I've had since grad school; the same TV that I got in high school.

Notice big globs of crusted paint...

I've had the same friends--some going back to elementary school, and I slowly add to my circle with each new location and situation. Even though we may be far apart and haven't seen each other for a while, we're still very similar to the people we were when we last met. I don't give up on people easily. My musical tastes haven't changed much. I still watch the same old sit-coms, and I can watch them over and over again. My political leanings: still the same since high school. I still have the same anxieties and ailments that have plagued me most of my life, but their predictability has helped me to manage them a bit better, I guess. Maybe I'm a bit more skeptical than I used to be, but that probably happened way back in grad school. I still like my country ham and biscuits, chicken and dumplin's, punctuated by something exotic. I'm just as close to my extended family as ever; although I have to work a bit harder at logistics.
I'm laying here on the couch and Boop is doing flip-flops. There are so many uncertainties; so many new worries. And change. My body has changed. Other things are going to change in a major way, too. Part of my way of dealing is to try not to think about it too much. However, I'm going to have to try to plan for the contingencies that I can. I hope I can manage all the changes that Boop will bring, but I know it won't be easy for me. My only consolation is that I've wanted to be a Mom all of my life and have been continually training for the opportunity.