Spring is always a time of change. I felt this in many positive ways during a nice long hike on Saturday through a mix of hardwoods, loblolly pines, and prairie meadows at a nearby nature reserve that I hadn’t visited before. It was a lovely walk, the weather was great, and there weren’t many people around. My allergies even held off until the very end.

There seem to be even more transitions than I expected this spring. I knew curling was wrapping up (Monday after I played one of my best games of the season), that my morning bible study was ending, and that there would be a lot of work travel that has really only just started, but there is more. Yesterday, the SBA announced new rules governing the 7(a) program that rein in some of the flexibility that was introduced into the system last year. We’re still processing the changes, but I don’t expect the net result to be positive. I could say the same about a number of other things. These collective changes make our 2025 growth initiatives even more important and those are focused on adding different types of customers, a planned transition but on an accelerated timeline.

I’m also coming towards the end of my current lease, which is always a time that causes a little pause. Following my historical pattern, now is about the time to move somewhere else. That isn’t necessarily a pattern I intend to perpetuate, but I can’t help thinking about possibilities in ways that I wasn’t even in March. I can’t be the only one who has these sorts of thoughts every couple years.