Changing of the seasons.

What a year of transition!  Transplantation. When I first named this blog many years ago, it was

because it seemed I was being transplanted - both literally and figuratively. Little did I know that was Just. The. Beginning.

Since that first Transplanted Gal blog post:

• My parents sold their home and moved onto our land
• We built our dream home and moved out of our little beloved cabin
• Both sons married, one of them having the first EVER wedding on the property
• Wildernest Ranch Bed & Breakfast, LLC became a reality
• Our 3rd grandchild was born
• We opened the B&B
• Mike retired
• Expansions to the business included an event venue and two precious tinies
• After years of teaching English II, I switched to Culinary
• Mike received a call and was offered his old position with Donaldson, except with less travel
• We've witnessed 18 weddings at our property and venue, and countless parties & reunions
• I turned in my final letter of resignation and made the decision to "come home" to run the business full-time

Friday was my last day with students as we finished final exams. I've taken all of my personal belongings home, cleaned out the culinary kitchen, have all of my student computers and other technology ready to turn back into Tech. I've finalized grades and printed out my last grade verification sheets, cleaned out my desk, and have begun saying my "see ya laters." 

Tomorrow at 1pm I will drive out of the faculty parking lot for the last time as a TEACHER.

If I've learned anything in my 50+ years of living and loving, it's that nothing stays the same. Changes are inevitable; some are grand and exciting - others leave you heartbroken and desolate. With each new season comes new challenges, new adventures, new discoveries, new realizations.

The past year has probably been one of the most challenging for me up to this point. I think I may have cried more in the past 12 months than I have my entire adult life. My heart has been ripped apart again and again as I've tried to support my brother (who I love SO very much) through the most difficult chapter of his personal life; but we've grown closer as a result.

Together we've witnessed our parents' new health issues, and are continually learning new ways to support and care for them has been heartbreaking at times; but our love for family and our intense desire for them to know we're here for them has only deepened and solidified.

We've celebrated with one set of kids as they announced a new pregnancy, and we're over the moon excited to become grandparents to the fourth grand buddy OR grand doll. Yet - at the very same time - we've mourned with another set of kids who are facing infertility issues, and - as a family - we've come closer to each other and to God as we trust Him to make them parents.

We've lost friends to death this year - more than I ever thought possible in one year. It's been almost surreal. From motorcycle accidents to cancer to heart attacks, so many lives we've been invested in have come to an end, claiming people who are so very special to our lives. Yet each time has driven us to our knees and only served to make us more aware of how precious every single moment of this life really is.

Time is fleeting, and each day must count.

But I know it must also be a balanced life.

I've learned what it means to work weeks on end without a "day off," between my role as a teacher and a B&B owner. I'm also learning that a power nap on the couch or an occasional marathon of a favorite show doesn't mean I'm letting things "slip."

I've experienced what it's like to drop so many balls in so many roles this past year that I've very often wondered if I was fit to do ANY job, let alone try to keep my arms around the ones I've had. Yet each of these roles have blessed our family, our home, our marriage, and my spirit. I've learned to go to bed early on those hard days and trust that tomorrow is a brand new day, with brand new chances to do better.

We've missed countless ball games, special events, and birthday parties of our grands because it has literally taken all of our time, energy, and resources to get the business where it is today. We can't get those time back nor can we make up for them, but we CAN now begin to make new memories. Like Friday night lights in Richardson come fall, trips to Austin for the new birth, being present for karate tournaments, birthday parties, and impromptu quick Dallas "turn-arounds" for dinner dates with our grown kids.

I've cried over the students I am saying good-bye to, over aspects of teaching that I will miss so very much, and even over the fact that I will no longer be classified as a TEACHER - a role I have been so proud and honored to carry.

Oddly enough, there were no tears today. There may be tomorrow; don't hold me to this statement:)! I recognize this next season and anticipate it. I know it will be full of moments that I expect, and maybe even more that I don't. I know there will much laughter, more tears, gains and losses.

I promise my family that I will smile more, hug tighter, laugh often, play with childlike abandon. I will work hard to continue to grow our business, but I'll put the business of family first. More living room picnics with my love, more Legos and coloring with George, more girls' trips with my mom and daughters-in-love, more cheering at games as Carter plays and Kendall cheers. More front porch conversations with my brother, and also with my sis-in-law, friends and neighbors. 

More church. More prayer. More Jesus than ever before.

Once more...

I'm a transplanted gal.

I wouldn't have it any other way.