Cheese Moving

Cheese moving. 

I remember the first time I had that uncomfortable feeling about my school district beginning to grow. It was in the late nineties, and I was at a district-wide meeting. Since we had opened a new elementary school I no longer knew everyone. 

Someone asked a question about why we did something a certain way, and I spoke out to offer an explanation. It was then that I realized that many in attendance at the meeting had no idea who I was. They had never taught with me, or had met me before, and I could tell my explanation was met with some resistance. 

It was at that moment that I felt a shift in what had been known and comfortable. My once little district was showing its first signs of growing pains. I left that meeting feeling a sadness over what had been, and what would never be the same again. 

Today nine years into retirement my once little school district is unrecognizable. Even attending a retired teachers meeting finds fewer and fewer familiar faces. I like many find change uncomfortable, but it is inevitable.

When I left that meeting years ago I came across the book, Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson.  It was an analogy about mice and cheese, and how those who don't move along with the times get left behind. After reading it, I realized that resisting the change would do me no good in the long run. 

It took a while for me to adjust, but I learned a valuable lesson that day. In life things will not remain the same, but how I deal with that change is really up to me, and can make all the difference in my happiness.