Julia's blog: Coping with change

I have come to the conclusion that I need to take lessons from my children in coping with change. In the last few weeks our family has faced a huge upheaval. We have moved out of our home to allow builders to take over and complete what should be a straightforward renovation project. It is quickly turning into a pretty huge re-build of our traditional Victorian terraced house as more and more problems with our century-plus old property are discovered.

My daughter has giggled at the sight of her old bedroom covered in dust with huge holes in the floor. She seems very focussed on all the things she intends to incorporate into 'her new house'. My son has absolutely relished moving all of his most important possessions (a dinosaur, hundreds of toy trains and a hippo nightlight) into Grandma and Grandad's house and finding ingenious new homes for them all. At no stage have they seemed stressed or worried. The (now) long journey to nursery in the morning is simply an extra chance to chat with Daddy and/or listen to a Julia Donaldson book on CD for the millionth time.  The journey back across town mid-afternoon is a fun filled tube adventure and an opportunity to interrogate kind strangers.

It's fair to say my husband and I haven't dealt with the transition quite as well. We are exhausted with trekking around and constantly terrified at the thought of the next bill that will arrive from the builders with another outside budget 'amendment'. Combined with the usual added time pressures of the festive season, we are definitely burning the candle at both ends.

There's also a transformation happening in my workplace in the form of a merger. I think I need to follow the examples set by my children as I respond to the changing environment:

1.     Focus on the opportunities it presents (in my daughter's world, a new princess/dinosaur themed bedroom);

2.     Enjoy the challenges that need to be overcome to achieve it (it's just a journey and a chance to interact with new people after all?); and

3.     Take advantage of a good excuse to de-clutter, prioritise the stuff that matters and find a new home for my work-related possessions!

Julia is a senior associate in the tax team at a city law firm. She works three days a week and spends the rest of her time looking after her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son.