I have been thinking a lot about change lately.  For me change is scary.  I have mentioned before that my little family and I do not do well with change.  However one of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from my Grandmother-in-law, who is now 93.  She is kind, funny, and self-deprecating.  I remember about a decade ago she told me that the world keeps changing and we have to keep on changing with it.  I think some people crave change and others don’t.  I have lived in only five places my entire life, and they have all been within a 15 mile radius of one another.  I have never been the type to suddenly change furniture or hair styles out of “boredom.”  Rather, I prefer the familiar, unless it just breaks down or simply becomes too dated.  I suppose the only area where I can say I readily embrace change is with technology.  When I first came to SMU most of the kids had their own private computers … and had for years.  I not only lacked my own; I had barely even touched one.  As a journalist major, I went from clinging to old school note taking with pen and paper to being forced by one of my professors to type my thoughts directly onto a computer.  At the time I thought he was mad.  I realize now he was so set upon helping me because he was struggling to do the same.  At first I can remember being incredibly intimidated; crippled with fear and embarrassment … and then I realized I’d have to adapt in order to pass my classes and progress.  Fast forward about a decade later:  when I first got married and we bought our home.  I discovered my husband kept losing his keys; I mean CONSTANTLY!  I tried hiding spares to no avail; he’d just lose them, too.  At one point I had a locksmith in my directory because he kept losing them.  Of course it wasn’t just the house, it was his car, too.  Once I had to drive all the way out to the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport late at night because he’d locked himself out of the car.  It may have seemed like spending money but I finally took charge and saved a ton of money (and stress) by going keyless.  Our house has been connected with a wireless alarm system and cameras accessible by phone for years.  In addition, when my husband complained he could not work the TV I had the different remotes combined into one as well.  When he lost the remote I discovered there was an app that could be used from the phone just as easily.  Yes, he has lost his phone several unfortunate times but I have it backed up and now it is only accessible biometrically.  As an extra precaution I can lock and wipe his phone remotely within seconds but restore it all to a new one in minutes, should the need arise.  He can now start and lock his car from his phone, as well as control the climate and all of the lights in our home.  Now when we go on walks we can lock the door with our hand and not risk losing keys.  Change can be stressful or restful; it can be forged or forced, and sometimes it can just simply be.  The ancient Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  After 16 years at the same church I felt we should change.  This is the parish in which I attended before so many of my life changes took place.  It is there that I met my beloved husband, got married, baptised our child, buried my mother, and where our little girl received her first Holy Communion.  I am still learning that change does not need to be the result of something bad.  As I grow older I am trying to accept that all things change.  I like the idea that out of an ending comes a new beginning.  And so, as this is the start of the first full week of the New Year, in a new decade, in this new millennium, I offer salutations to new beginnings.