Change is inevitable. It is the only constant. The single variable seems only to be the rate of change with which we have to deal with.
At one stage or another, change has affected all of us. We greet these minor challenges by readjusting the parameters to compensate for the little things in life that didn't pan out the way we'd planned.
Usually, it's a gradual process consisting of small events over long periods of time. Fate has designed it that way to help those of us with preconditioned mindsets who expect the status quo.
For the most part, we readily deal with this steady unraveling of time by drawing on past experiences and slowly developing new expectations that match the reality we're faced with. Nothing scary, and certainly nothing we can't manage.
Then there are times when life simply catches us unaware!
Fiercely content to take things as they come, or determined to just roll with the punches, we avoid thinking about the other possibilities available to us until one day we are blind-sided by some freak occurrence on an idle Tuesday. These are the kind of events that flip the whole world upside down (so to speak).
It is during these times of uncertainty when reality seems intangible and our future is unknown that we find ourselves facing two fundamental choices: fight it and become miserable, or give in to new experience and bow to the whims of the giant magnet.
At the end of the day, talking about it will achieve nothing, and it's what you do that really counts. In our house, we've had a little bit of both.
Charlotte Lillian is both the catalyst for the Supernova, as well as the steadying force that keeps Michelle and I focused and working together on the every-day.
In-spite of the unknown, the uncertain and the unexpected, we have worked hard this year to come together and put our best foot forward. Our mission: reset, refocus and create a home and nursery we can manage.
On the surface, this may seem a relatively mundane human endeavour - but it's the hidden victories that really count. Not only have we turned the house into a sparkling diamond encrusted castle; but we have also managed to catch the curve balls with our teeth, embrace the sudden change and re-emerge as Charlotte's Mum and Dad, as well as becoming husband and wife.
At the end of the day, actions do speak louder than words and all we can hope for is that history will be kind to us and our actions show just how much we loved being Tiggy's parents as much as we loved being married to one another.
Check out the little Movie we put together documenting the transition of Almon St over the first 12 months we have shared together as a family. When you stop to realise that the physical changes are only the tip of the iceberg - you get a sense of how far we have really come and how much potential lies before us.
Thank you to Michelle for allowing me to disrupt your entire world and create this beautiful little thing called Home. Thank you for your patience, your tolerance and your willingness to make it work. It hasn't been easy to settle into a new rhythm on the other side of the world, but together I'm convinced we'll get there in the end.
May we travel into the next decade with the same positive momentum and grow closer as a family every day. Most importantly, let's do this despite where we have come from - and regardless of where we think that we are going.
Happy New Year everyone - 2010 was a real blast!
xxooxx Will
