Instant and Gradual Changes

I am moving this weekend, so the past few days have been full of packing, cleaning, and tying up loose ends. I can honestly say that I'm not at all sad about this. I don't feel nostalgic or emotional. I guess you could say that I've been ready for a while now. After all, the future is exciting :-)

Moving is not fun. There are almost always unanticipated expenses, and the actual labor of moving is annoying. I've been doing my best to not freak out or become overwhelmed. I have been taking it all one day at time. However, I have found myself walking around my apartment over and over again, searching for something to do. I'm just ready to go. 

In between my hot laps, I have been doing plenty of reading and writing. I read a blog post by Donalyn Miller, teacher and author of The Book Whisperer. She wrote in response to attending a high school graduation: "No matter how much we influence these golden children, we have moved into the past now. Just a few paragraphs in their stories. Chapter One." Isn't it crazy to think that we can just drift into someone else's past? Some of my students I will never see again. To them, I am their high school English teacher -- the past. We all have moved into a different part of life.

Sometimes changes in life are more definite; they can happen in an istant. You get a new job. You move to a new community. Someone in your life leaves. It's black and white. That last day at school is just that -- the last. Other times, changes are gradual. You drift apart from a friend. You grow closer to another. Then one day you realize that things have changed. 

People come in and out of our lives. The influence we have on one another varies, but it is all significant.