Changes Add up- to what

mood- reflective
wieght- 189

It dawned on me this afternoon that a there's a shift going on around me. 2 friends have just retired. One is starting a new business that she has been looking forward to for years. The other was downsized from the large company she had worked for a very long time. She has a good severance package and ideas about where to go from here but it's still uncharted territory. More uncharted land stands in front of the 2 guy aquaintnces who I've heard have recently been informed by their wives that the marriage is over. Yet another new world is the one my mother is in as a widow. She has always lived with someone and has had to make all sorts of adjustments to being on her own. My friend whose live in boyfriend died suddenly a few months ago is more used to being on her own but it's still a shock. My own life is pretty stable but still the changes creep around the edge. Grandchildren change things even when they're not actually underfoot. Perspective changes. I'm not sure where this is going but I think I'm more on the lookout for new things and different possibilities.

On the more practical side. Had a very teachy Aikido class yesterday morning. I was the only student not wearing a white belt so was the demonstration uki for the whole class. That takes more falls than average. Also means the class was focused on basics. I appreciate that as basics can't be revisited enough. If they are flawless then so is everything else. The fancy extras only work to the extent that the underlying form is correct. It takes a few years of practice though to appreciate that.