Life is transition. It is an inescapable fact of getting older.
Two-and-a-half years ago, I took a job as the sports editor of The Demopolis Times, looking to wet my feet in the industry and move up, and possibly off, as quickly as possible. I got a small apartment near good neighbors, set up my base of operations with a decor that was nothing if not temporary and readied for the next move.
Now, the time for that move has come. This weekend, I will be packing the last of my things and heading out of town. Well, actually I will be heading to the outskirts of town.
What was initially planned as a brief layover in Demopolis has begun to look like something much more permanent as my two-and-a-half years have seen my “traveling bone” transition into a “stay put bone.”
Plans change. Minds change. People change. And, sometimes, addresses change. But as I leave my once and temporary abode, I get to look to even better days.
Just over a month ago, my girlfriend found a job and moved to Demopolis. And every day, I see her rapidly growing to love the community much like I did in early 2008. So, I get the feeling we may not be going anywhere for a while. Hence, the move from the apartment.
But it occurs to me that this changing never really stops. Once I get settled into my new home several months from now, my new roommate will be ready to get married. Not long after that, I will probably start to think about getting married. And then there is that whole starting a family thing followed by the putting the children through school thing and ultimately the growing old and passing on thing.
For many, there is the retirement thing. But I am not on pace for that, so no worries there. At this rate, I will be writing columns for The Times well into my 60s. So, at least, that should be a constant.
And constants are good, especially in a life that is continually in flux.
So as I get ready to move on to the next phase of my life, I cannot help but appreciate the things on this earth that do not change. I have great family, tremendous friends and live in a wonderful community. And in a life of continuous transition, those things make the changes so much easier.
Jeremy D. Smith is the sports editor of The Demopolis Times.