I have been thinking about change tolerance today. When I worked at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, a parent of a Therapy Services patient gave a talk about her experience as a parent.
She described it as planning a trip to Paris. Everybody tells you about the food, the culture, the nightlife, the sights, and what to anticipate. You board the plane. The flight goes smoothly. When you deplane you discover you landed in Amsterdam. You will not be going to Paris. Amsterdam is nice but it isn’t Paris. The food is fine. It has a different culture which is nice. The people are nice. But you expected Paris. Can you tolerate the change?
For the last year we have been on a trip to Amsterdam. Work is different. School is different. Our social lives and family lives are different. If this was all we ever knew we wouldn’t complain but we had been to Paris and expected Paris. We ended up in Amsterdam. Some people have tolerated the change. Some people are demanding to speak to the manager and are leaving scathing reviews on Yelp.
My daughter hasn’t been robbed of her senior year experience. It is not as if only seniors in Saint Louis are missing out. Her entire generation is having a different experience than their predecessors. They landed in Amsterdam instead of Paris. I am trying to help her improve her change tolerance and be ready for next year and the year after that.
I get my second dose of the vaccine on Monday. Welcome to Amsterdam.