Yesterday afternoon, the wind kicked up and blew. The sky dressed itself in brown clouds of dust. The trees flapped wildly and littered the yard with their dead branches. However, today all is peaceful.

As I look out my window this morning, I’m reminded of the wind’s intensity just a mere twelve hours ago. How quickly it changed.

In parenting, I find things change fast too. What works for a while, suddenly doesn’t. So we shift gears. What motivates for a time, diminishes. Shift. An effective method to teach our children becomes old school as they get older. Shift. The fun activities we do together look different as time passes. Shift.

I used to hate change. I liked things predictable. But I learned early on, that parenting requires flexibility and willingness to be open to alterations in my plans.

I’ve also learned that not all change is dreadful. This weekend is a perfect example. Typically as a family, we decide together on our vacation destination, but the actual planning I do alone. My husband is game for anything. Our daughter didn’t care as long as we had family time and fun. So I planned the details.

Saturday, as we discussed our upcoming vacation, our daughter expressed her desire to help plan. She got excited over researching our destination, and hot spots we could see and do. I was thrilled to add a co-planner. My husband had one item on his wish list and she jumped at the chance to see how we could make that happen. This year, we will plan together!

There is no doubt that change is erratic and impulsive at times. But welcome to the adventures of parenting. Buckle yourself in. Sit back. Enjoy the ride!