Moving My Cheese

If you come to tell me about changes taking place in your life, your world, I will give you great advice on handling it.

I don't listen to my advice. I am a giver not a taker :)

I saw the signs of change coming. They were small and I enjoyed them.

Are you on the edge of wondering what changes I might have been going through? Have you been already going through your memory of past changes in your life and identifying with me?

Just to let you know, it is my favorite store that is making the changes. It is the store I do 90% of my shopping at. Changes in the direction of the shelving units was minor. Changes in the width of the aisles was pleasing. Changes in the location of one or two products was acceptable.

Saturday morning I left early with one of my sons to do the bi-monthly grocery shopping. It requires two carts so having someone along is helpful. I made a shopping list up for him to speed things up.

I warned him on the way that there were some changes in the location of some products on his list but not to worry. It will simply take him a little longer than the norm.

We each took a cart and headed off in separate directions.

I had not even gotten through the first portion of my list when I stopped in the middle of an aisle. I looked down at my organized list, I looked at the aisle. I did that several times before I finally just stood there and for the first time, I fully began to take in the changes. I had been warned. There had been small subtle changes not to mention the posted signs.

It was one of those things where I did not want the change to happen. However, I thought I was ready and could handle any changes.

Needless to say, I vented verbally but with tact, through the rest of the shopping morning to customers, employees and even the bags of dog food. The dogs on the packaging looked eager to listen.

Once my son completed his portion of the shopping list he joined me. He heard my frustration as I vented. He saw my angry eyebrows. Then he began telling me what he needed to do about the situation using video game references, I knew I had made a huge mistake. What kind of training up by model had I just done for him?

Ahem - if only to be like on Fairly Odd Parents and 'redo'.

Can't take it back but I can try to mend. And so I did, on the way home I stated a disclaimer making him laugh. Then we began talking about how the store changes related to other changes in our lives and how we can each in our own unique way, appropriately handle change when it comes our way.

It was a Walton moment. The drive is actually 40 minutes long so it was more like a 40 Walton moments but who is counting?

I was in a training class through my work several years back. It was based on the book Who Moved My Cheese. You can see I benefited and retained much from the class :)

Job positions change. Church exchanged the pews for tables and chairs. Winter was filled with more snow days than this state has experience in over 60 years. Children grow up and move away. Wrinkles drop from clouds and stick to my forehead.

I can't stop change. Neither can you, unless you use the video game method my son suggested which would in reality, stop the world from turning, we would all die so who then would be left to care about change.

It is I who has to change with the change.

bummer - unless you are a caterpillar about to change into a butterfly....