When was the last time you made a big change in your life?

I’ve had to rebuild my life completely in the last year since my sons moved further away and my husband left. It’s been very painful but I am quite happy with the way I’ve handled things and the person I’ve become.

I’m making one now. We’ve lived in our current house for 20 years, but have never really done much to it. We’ve been in “survival” mode, entirely focused on getting the kids to adulthood, just trying to get by. Our living space has become a reflection of those harried years: haphazard, neglected, forlorn.

Now that the kids are gone, we’ve finally undertaken to make our house a place where we might actually enjoy living. This is quite a change for us, believe it or not. We’ve gone decades without spending a dollar for anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. From there to spending our weekends wandering through showrooms and talking to architects, and allowing ourselves to imagine how we would like our place to be…it’s kind of like emerging from a long winter into spring.

I made a massive change four years ago in marital status, country, employment, housing, and friends and just about everything else. It was traumatic at the time but has worked out remarkably well and I have no regrets.

I’m going through a lot of those right now and I know they are very good for me. I lost a bunch of weight eating twice a day in Paris and walking everywhere, and I’ve been overweight for a long time so I’m trying to keep it off by exercising and using my car only very sparingly. I’ve been shaving my head almost bald after having long hair most of my life, and I’m really enjoying that, too.

I’m trying to learn how to be happy being alone, after seeking validation through relationships for years. I’m trying to be much more social at work and in my free time; I was quite depressed my first two years in grad school and I feel that I need to make up for lost time and enjoy this excellent college town while I’m still here. Finally, I’m still in the midst of what is called ‘gender transition’ for lack of a better term (more like ‘medically assisted hormonal transition so that I feel like my body is mine, and you are more likely to perceive me as the proper gender’); this is a big gradual change that has affected my quality of life and my sense of self more than I could express to anyone.

Today. Told someone I was choosing myself over abusive, controlling behavior and would be moving in the next month. Feeling very alive today.

@janedelila : That is enormous! Well done, congratulations and all the best to you in this positive change.

@bookish1 Thank yew!!! Feeling great…

@janedelila, you deserve to be happy. I’m proud you are making that change. Wonderful.

I ended my marriage, am trying to get home, and am working on a way to not re-enter the workforce. ( working at home ). It’s incredibly scary. But as I’ve lived most of my life with just diving in, not knowing whether it would be shallow and break my neck, or deep so I could swim to better, I hope it will all work out.

The last big change in my life was in 1995 when I retired from the U.S. Army. It was a sweet change for sure. I got a civilian job a couple of months later doing what I do now. Believe me, I’m more than ready once again for another Cool Change (and yes I was born in the sign of water). HA!

I think my most recent “big change” was when I finally agreed to give Josh a chance, eight months ago.
I’m very happy with my decision. :)

March 19 2003…around tea-time, I changed the habit of a lifetime & vowed not to be so fastidious with times & dates…..shit!!!