New Chapters

By: Samantha S. Daviss

New chapters in our lives can be fun, exciting, sad, and scary all at the same time. I have had many new chapters in my life, and I have survived them all. Some were exciting, some broke my heart but I picked myself up and kept going, and others were scary, emotional, and thrilling all at the same time.

I have recently just entered a new “new chapter” in my life with my family. We are in the process of moving into our “forever home”. This house has been a work in progress for over 12 months now, and it has turned out better than I could have ever imagined. Every wall, every tile, every toilet paper roll has been selected and placed by yours truly. But I couldn’t have done it without a magnificent team behind me, including my builder, our designer, their teams, and of course my husband. It has been an amazing process and one I will treasurer forever.

As I have walked the path of life my exciting chapters have included things such as going off to summer camp for the first time, I was scared of the unknown, but so excited to meet new people and make new friends; another exciting time was heading off to college. It was a great big world down there in College Station. When the school was twice the size of my home town, and my first marketing class was three times the size of my graduating class it was a little overwhelming. But it was the happiest times in my life.

New chapters in my life that broke my heart were the loss of my pets. You know they all live happy full lives but some die from old age and some pass from accidents, and that is the most difficult way to lose a pet is before their time. Other sad new chapters are break ups. You never know why a relationship ends, or if you do, it still hurts and stings a little bit. But regardless you must move forward in your life knowing that a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a relationship wasn’t meant to be and there are bigger and better plans for you in life.

But the biggest new chapter in my life, or I guess in my case “new chapters” were the births of my three boys. It is scary to know you are holding this new little creature in your arms that is totally and completely dependent on you for life and support as we know it; it’s emotional because you created that little person with the help of God, but that little person is a part of you forever; and thrilling too because of what the future holds for you and your new little buddy in life. Becoming a parent is by far the greatest “new chapter” any one person can encounter, whether it’s a biological child, a stepchild via marriage, an adoption; it doesn’t matter becoming a parent is the most awesome experience in the world.

But my latest chapter is a peaceful one. It is a little odd knowing this is the house (you hope) you will live out your years in. It is the house that your children will grow up in, move a way and bring their children back to for visits. It is a peaceful feeling knowing this is the house that you designed to sit on the back porch with your husband, hold hands and watch the sunset, both literally and figuratively.

New chapters are an amazing thing, you just have to accept them, embrace them, and understand that they are a part of life; good or bad.