Pushing Antlers

I have been a bit aloof of late; missing full moons and such...

Today marks the New Buck Moon, named for when young male deer begin to push soft velvety stubs that will eventually become hardened antlers.  I did a bit of research, planning a killer metaphor, but all I could think was "OW!!"  Seriously, growing antlers must hurt-  far worse than wisdom teeth; but then I remembered puberty. OH GAWD! Puberty!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........

If my feet weren't growing faster than ability to coordinate them, my breasts were spilling out of newly purchased bras. My face was cratered like the moon's surface and my crying jags were the stuff of legend.   I wanted to grow up, but needed to be mothered as well. I wanted responsibility, but not the boring part. I wanted to date, but was clueless when a boy stuck his tongue in my mouth.  In short, I was a mess- a perfectly normal, hormonal thirteen year old mess...

And the scary part was that nature had decided I was an adult, ready to reproduce. What the hell??  It was like giving the keys of a Cadillac to a toddler.  I had no idea what to do with my body; it instantly became foreign to me, like an enemy in wait.  Oh, so you want to go to a dance?  Well here is a zit for ya, sister!  You want to impress Jim?  Oops, don't trip in those ridiculous high heels your mother warned you were a broken ankle ready to happen.  And did you really have to get your new monthly friend during your presentation on moon travel? Did you?

And the deer think they have it so rough...

But we all lived through it. We garnered our new found assets and corralled those raging hormones. We grew into our feet and finally understood our internal metamorphosis. In short, we learned. We adjusted. We accepted.  And we celebrated that which we became.

That is the key to all successful change no matter how terrifying or painful.  
We must learn; understand what options are available to us.  
We must adjust; knowing that no single option will be perfect. 
We must accept; that which we cannot change.

And when it is all said and done, we need to celebrate.