Thursday, April 28, 2011

Ch-ch-ch Changes

Big achievement today - I managed to get through the entire night without a coughing fit. Hooray!!! I am seriously OVER this cold. I haven't been able to run all week mostly because of the coughing-most-of-the-night-and-not-getting-any-sleep thing. So I see that a full night in bed is an enormous improvement.

It's been a big week in the Donaldson household. Josh has started his first job as an electrical engineer. It was a pretty soft first week for him. Two days holiday followed by tree days work and this weekend is another long weekend. And his verdict on his first day? "Sucky" (I don't know - they go to university for 4 years and graduate with honours and that is the only adjective they can pull out of their vocabulary?) Why was it sucky? Because he was new and didn't know anything and didn't want to make a fool out of himself by asking stupid questions. Was there anything positive? They do have two pretty sweet coffee machines so Josh's caffeine addiction will be catered for.

I should not have been surprised at Josh's reaction. He has NEVER taken to new situations easily. He cried at the gate at kindergarten for months. Then when it was time to leave kindy and go to school he didn't want to leave his kindy teachers and he worried that I might not manage the shopping without his help. He walked into school every day for 6 months clutching a tissue to dab at his tears before he finally settled in. But once he got to high school the tears had dried up - only to be replaced by anger. Why did we send him to that sucky school? (His vocabulary didn't really improve from the age of 13, did it?)

Day 2 at work was preceded by a nervous stomach but the home-coming Josh was a lot happier than the day before. The work had gone well and he was making progress. Today is day 3 and Josh couldn't have been happier. There was singing in the kitchen and the ritual teasing-of-the-younger-brother. The status quo in our house has returned. Adjustment has taken only a couple of days. I'm sure there'll be a few hiccups in the next few months - times when he struggles with the work, times when things just don't go quite right - but I'm relieved that he seems to have settled fairly quickly.

His situation this week has made me do a bit of thinking about changes and adjustment. For years my life just ran smoothly with one year blending seamlessly into the other. I didn't really have to face any changes until the past decade. And Josh's problem with changes is a hereditary one. I don't like to make changes either - particularly if they're not ones that you've chosen but they've been imposed on you. But what I've learnt over this time of flux is that not all changes are bad, it's best accept them early on because resisting just wastes way too much emotional energy and flexibility can be your greatest asset. It's hard to fight your nature but this is one area I'm working on.

8 comments:

  1. Glad you are FINALLY getting over the coughing. Sounds a lot like what I had - I was waking up several nights in the rwo coughing like CRAZY. So annoying.

    I hope Josh is able to settle in to the new job!

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  2. Hope things keep improving for Josh. We want things to go so well for our kids!

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  3. That must have been tough to have your son crying when you left him at te school gates. Glad he is settling in to work, and that your cold is finally getting better!

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  4. Glad that the cold is over. Here also the weather doesn't help, one day it's cold and the day after warm.
    Good luck for the new job of Josh.
    My children both work but I always worry.

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  5. Glad to hear the cough is gone!!
    Please email me about the International Flag from Johann.

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  6. Best wishes to Josh who started his first job. I'm Glad that his work is going well and he is making progress.

    I don't like flexibility too!
    Have a nice weekend!

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  7. All the best to Josh with the job. I'm glad to hear you are feeling better.

    About the flag, remember you can carry it on a run or in a race. So you can take it on some training run as well.

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  8. Gosh that colds been hanging on! I'm glad Josh is settling in. You're so right. Change is never easy but being flexible and open to adapting is huge.

    Yes...Princess B's 'antlers' were utterly ridiculous and I'll bet the entire world is laughing. I heard her referred to as the' royal moose'.

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