Change Is My Constant

3

 

Change is my ConstantIt was 11pm, I’m at a bar in Chicago on a girls trip and I get a call from my boyfriend, Jeff.

“Hey, I got traded to the Angels and I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Uhhhhhhhh, what?”

“Ya, I got traded just now.  I got taken off the field, was told to remove my jersey, and that I have a plane leaving at 7am in the morning for Salt Lake City, their triple A team.”

We lived in hotels for some seasons...glamorous!
We lived in hotels for some seasons…glamorous!

This was in 2007 and Jeff was a professional baseball player. He was with the Yankees organization at the time in their double-A level in Trenton, New Jersey. He had been with the Yankees for 6 years.  On this particular day, he got traded to the Los Angels of Anaheim…and in the matter of a moment, life changed.  And it would continue to change and change and change.

This was in 2007.  We moved another 13 times in the next 6 years, including outside the US, 2 different times.

In the world of professional sports, we should have expected change, but it always took us by surprise. “You’ve been moved up to triple-A, you’ve been moved down to rehab at double-A, you’ve been traded, you’re moving across the country to another city (usually with less than 24 hours notice).”

It was exhausting, honestly.  We were this young couple, clinging desperately to each other for stability in the constant flux.  Always living out of suitcases and finding different docs, vets, dentists, friends, time zones, grocery stores, even furniture was rough. Our wedding gifts never got unpacked but went right to storage since we left 2 days after getting married to live in another country.

We. Just. Wanted. To. Be. NORMAL.

Our friends and family at home were normal.  They went to college, got married, had houses, had babies, 9-5 jobs, and got to hang out with each other on the regular.  We were jealous, and outsiders, since we were only home at certain times of the year, had irregular schedules, and no one really ‘got it’ since it was hard to relate. Life with a ‘ball player’ did not always evoke stable and steady images to friends and family looking out for my well being.

Then one day, I don’t even remember what the turning point was, which makes me a bit sad…but we just said:

[quote]We are weird, and that rocks![/quote]

Change is scary, stressful, and unexpected.

But change is where GROWTH and LIFE freaking begin!!! 

We get that now. In fact, we are so in tune with it that our choices have gotten bolder and bolder, not allowing convention or the ‘norm’ to guide our actions. But a passion, a drive, and an insatiable appetite for growth and exploration that moves us to change by choice now.

Not all who wander are lost
Not all who wander are lost

So I would encourage each of you, to just relax a bit when it comes to what everyone else is doing. If you find yourself in a situation of change, realize it as an opportunity for growth the world has placed in front of you.

EMBRACE THAT.

DO THAT.

GROW.

Personally, I don’t look for stability or normalcy these days.  I’m fully aware that I’m weird, and that a lot of people don’t ‘get me.’ I prefer to look for growth opportunities, ways to get me outside of my comfort zone. It is certainly painful since I am a true introvert, but there is nothing more rewarding than meeting a challenge!

 

  • So how do we frame change and challenge for our kids? 

 

  • How do we ensure our kids can release anxieties about change and become innovators instead? 

 

  • What are some other changes during motherhood and parenting that forced your internal growth? 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous articleDo I Have To? | A Moms Job is Never Done
Next articleTo Sport or Not to Sport? How Many is the Question…
Kate
I’m the most extroverted introvert you’ll ever met. I’m happiest curled up reading and not talking to anyone. But, find immense reward in taking BOLD chances. My background is as a physician - I am a hardcore science nerd, spending my former years attending medical school and being all things “doctor.” Then I traveled the country with my husband being an official baseball wife - which is hilariously not glamorous. Once back in Dayton, spent a few years as a personal trainer working with clients suffering from cancer, chronic illness, and the “I can’t do it syndrome.” In 2014 I co-founded Kate’s Plate, which is a healthy cooking service here to transform lives and the way we do family dinner. Also, I am the ‘CEO’ of Beyond The Game Sports Training, my hubby’s sports facility, and teach healthy cooking classes at Dororthy Lane Market’s Culinary Center. I very much struggle to switch modes from balls-out entrepreneur to gentle mommy mode on the daily. My son, Cooper, is 1 and a spitting image of his father, Jeff. He is obsessed with his grandpa and has the darndest little smirk. Jeff and I are Centerville natives, and came back here to plant our roots and give back to the place who made us who we are today. Random facts: I hate to shop, I eat a lot of butter, I'm a hippie at heart, I’ve taken flying lessons, I don’t watch TV or do Pinterest (gasp!!) Favorite things about being motherhood: Nursing (calorie burning bonus, hello!), watching daddy make the kid laugh so hard he can barely breathe, and the way the moments of parenting bring me back down to earth, back to the here and now

3 COMMENTS

  1. Loved this! One of my top five strengths used to be adaptability. Since having kids that has probably changed some and I need to refine that skill once again!

  2. Kate, what a great post! Worded so elequently too. I feel challenged and encouraged all at the same time!

Comments are closed.