Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Thinking back on the year 2020, I think we can all say the theme of the year was DOOM! Well, my 2021 theme definitely has been “A Year of CHANGE”. And I have the choice…fight it, or embrace it! So…let me share my year of change with y’all!

It all started with me decided to move forward with building a house. I was so excited….but, it meant leaving the neighborhood that I have lived in for years. It meant reconfiguring my space and learning how to live in a house that is about 300 square feet less. It also meant moving about 10 minutes from my area…still within driving distance for sure, but no longer would my normal go to’s be just 3-5 minutes away.

Then, I participated in my first virtual half marathon. I ran it all and did great, but it was definitely a different experience than in years past. Not going downtown for the pre-event festivities, pacing myself along a route I had to chose, and not having a crowd along the way to keep me going sure made the run more challenging than in years past.

As the school year began to wrap up, I realized how much change we experienced with the change in our school calendar this year. We continued classes into June, which was completely different than in a regular year. And, this had a domino effect on several other aspects of my job…planning for the upcoming year and hiring staff were only a couple of things that became a challenge.

As we did wrap up the year, my right hand girl…my assistant principal (who I have been with for the last 15 years), decided that she and her family were moving away from the area and I was going to need to find a new assistant. This was a big one for me! Not a change I was anticipating and let me tell you, I had a hard time with this one.

Now that I am settled in the new home…I have new assistant principal on staff…I have hired all teachers for the new year…and I have discovered my new normal (new place to get gas, my new running routes in the neighborhood, etc), I am ready to move forward with this “changed” life. But it took me a minute to get here.

My thoughts for you today…

• Change is inevitable. Life is an ever-evolving process and if you think it will always be the same, you will have a difficult time adjusting to life.
• Change can be a good thing! I may miss my old running routes in my old neighborhood, across the street from my go to Mexican restaurant, but my new running route brings me along the greenbelt areas with water ways, fountains, and some new wildlife to see…not so bad on an early morning run for sure!
• Routine can make life boring…and for those of you who know me well…I truly have become boring over the past couple of years. Change can bring exciting new adventures in your life! You just never know…adventures that you really could learn to love!
• And most importantly, although change is scary, it will be much more challenging if we refuse to embrace it and fight against the change. No one wants a miserable life, and if we refuse to change over the years, we are sure to find ourselves stuck, spending more energy on resisting the change than embracing what could come of it.

I am certainly looking forward to many new adventures in my life (after 50 :)…and I am starting with the year 2021! I cannot wait to see what change will bring for me as I continue to live my best life! Stay tuned, my friends!