Change

One would think as the wife of a Fareway manager and mother of four I would be used to chance and not resistant. That I would adapt to it well.

This season is bittersweet because a big change is headed our way. A change I have dreaded since we were handed  an eight pound, six ounce baby boy. It’s senior year in the Waite household. I’ve heard “senior” so often this year that  it has become a bad word to me. In typical Waite fashion, we “go big or go home” as Dave would say and get to do this all over again next year.

Change, how adaptable are you? Do you resist or welcome change?

Plans, do they always go the way you want them to or do you sometimes have to compromise? Change

I’d like to share something about plans and change.

For years we have had two vehicles. A dependable “good” one and a not so good one. The good car was unselfishly what Dave insisted I drive. Especially once the kids came along. Back in Omaha, to allow saving for the house we were building, Dave drove a 1976 rusty orange GMC. There are many funny stories about that one. Then we transferred back to Washington, sold the Omaha house and paid the good car off. It was finally Dave’s turn. In December of 2017 we went truck shopping. Something with a remote start instead of running out to turn it on in the dead of winter, something with a radio and would mostly be maintenance free for a few years. A couple of days before his birthday he drove home a brand new 2008 GMC Sierra crew cab. He got running boards and a topper for it. On date nights we always took the truck. A proud new owner he was. Over the next six years the kids learned to drive “mom’s car.” Ryan took out the mailbox, I moved a set of concrete stairs and Andrew just recently carved a new path down our lane via the ditch with it. The dents, scratches and much “love” have seasoned the 2003 Chevy Trailblazer.

Then in November 2012 another change occurred. I started working outside of the home again. After many years at home this change was met with some resistance. The Trailblazer, as my mode of transportation was not the most economical as a round trip is 88 miles doorstep to doorstep. We needed to find a way so that my part time income wasn’t only fueling my transportation. Always the listener to my days at work, Dave knew what happiness working with customers brought me. He suggested we trade his truck in on a fuel efficient car for me. This August, on my birthday, we did just that.

Many other changes have happened in our household this year. We’ve welcomed another addition to the family. Sarah’s boyfriend Mitchell. Sarah continues to do well in school. She went to State as an individual last Spring for golf and she is still working at Fareway. Andrew is maturing as he has moved into the high school. He’s still mowing lawns and works at Fareway as well. He also stays pretty “tied up” with wrestling. Emily has also moved to a different school. She is now in middle school, maintains straight A’s and started a new tumbling class this fall. Ryan turned eighteen in September. He enjoyed a history making football season going to the UNI dome for the state playoffs. He switched gears in jobs and now works at a local welding shop. Finding what doesn’t feel like work has made all the difference in his attitude. 

Change surrounds us all. I think about what Dave did; all those years driving the less than great vehicle. Then he finally got something brand new only to trade it in a few years later. So many things seem to come full circle, bringing us right back to where we started.

I know we will never be able to go back to having Ryan home every night and knowing where he is, what he’s doing, who he is with and if he is safe. This change, he is looking forward to and I am dreading. With the thought of doing something that will ultimately make him happy I take a page from Dave’s book and unselfishly embrace our future full of change.

As time has taught us, things always change. How we step up and greet the change is up to us. We hope for you positive changes; a stronger faith, a forgiving heart and an open mind.