When Life Pivots US
When Life Changes the Plans
There are seasons when life gives us a choice. And then there are seasons when it does not ask for our permission at all. One day you are walking in a direction that feels familiar, and the next day life taps you on the shoulder and says, “Actually… we are going this way now.” No warning. No map. Just a sharp turn you never planned for.
I used to think recovery meant getting back to the person I was before everything fell apart. I do not believe that anymore. Recovery is not about going back. It is about becoming. It is waking up after a storm and realizing you are still here, even if you are not the same. And maybe that is the point.
When life pivots you, something inside you begins to shift. You stop trying to glue the old normal back together and start noticing the small signs that maybe you are supposed to grow in a new direction. It does not have to look brave from the outside. Most of the time it looks messy and uncertain. But the willingness to turn with the curve instead of fighting it is where transformation quietly begins.
Transformation rarely arrives with fireworks. It usually slips in quietly and settles in your soul before you notice it is there.
I am learning that a pivot is not failure. It is wisdom. It is admitting, “I cannot stay where I was” and letting yourself move toward something healthier, kinder, more honest. It takes courage, but it is not the loud kind. It is the quiet courage of choosing yourself even when you are still shaking.
If you are in one of those seasons where life has pushed you in a new direction, pause for a moment. Breathe. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are being reshaped in ways that will make sense later. Some paths end so better ones can begin. Some doors close because you were never meant to live your whole life in that room.
You do not have to bounce back. You do not have to pretend the detour did not hurt. You only have to keep walking. Even slowly. Even with questions. Even while you grieve the old road.
The pivot may feel like loss at first. Give it time. It may turn out to be the place where you finally grow roots.
Ann Kagarise
Writer/Podcaster
What do I say about myself? I love telling other people's stories, but hmmmm...Let me think.
When I think about my life, I have so many chapters. I am a very compartmentalized person.
I am first of all a mom of 5 kids. Yep...5!
I am a grandma to 5 beautiful children! All gingers lol.
I am a writer, author, podcaster, oh my gosh...I've been a journalist, columnist, hard news writer for print. I have actually won quite a few awards for my writing.
I am a photographer. I LOVE getting the money shot and capturing life! I do have a website called Spectrum Photography, but I have it offline more than on because I cannot figure out how to make the pictures work on Etsy lol. I'm not good at that kind of stuff.
I very much am an autistic individual, ADHD and dyslexic. Yep I got it all lol. I'm not that great a executive functioning, but I have many great ideas! I am trying to put things into fruition, but it just takes me longer and I probably make more mistakes, but I don' give up!!!
I have had many lives in the working world. I've worked in the jail system with helping women and talking with them, praying with them. I was the director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center. I oversaw the crisis hotline at the center. I worked with abused boys. I was an Assistant Director at a school for kids with autism. I was a head swim coach for 12 years. Yep--former swimmer myself lol.
I was adopted. I've adopted 5 kids. And if you want to know the history of my crazy buffet of a family lol...I will tell you, but …
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