Of Monk and Change

As I mentioned, Tom's birthday was last week. 

I gave him the third season set of Monk dvd's--he loves that show and since we no longer have cable, all these episodes are new to him (us). He was tickled pink that I bought these.

But uh-oh! In the middle of the season we discovered that Monk's nurse/sidekick, Sharona, was replaced by a new gal, Natalie. Yes, we were surprised and a tad disappointed (Sharona was a riot), but hey! We thought we'd give the new girl a chance and see where the powers-that-be were going to take her and Monk. And ok, Natalie is no Sharona, yet she and her daughter have added a whole new dynamic to Monk--it's like watching the old Monk, only in a whole new way. We like it!

But oh dear. I surfed a few online Monk message boards just to see what other fans said about the Sharona/Natalie change and good grief! People were having cows.

I mean, hey. I realize everyone is allowed their own opinions about what they do or don't like. I get that, ok? But wow. Whatever happened to giving new things a fair chance? 

The message boards were practically on fire with stuff like this:

"Sharona is gone? I will never watch Monk again! Good-bye forever."
"Bring back Sharona or else!"
"Monk's and Sharona's relationship was the whole show. This show will die now."
"It's the end of an era. I'm sick about it."
"I watched one new episode. Natalie is mean. I can't stand her. I'll never watch again."
"Sharona was gorgeous. Natalie is ugly."
"Yeah, and the new theme song stinks, too."

Man oh man. It really is true that most people hate change. I saw it so clearly just by reading a few message boards and being reminded that, I, also, used to be that way if you even hinted at changing something I loved. 

And then I'd complain about being bored and in a rut. Imagine.

But there is no growth without change. There is nothing new without change. There's no chance for creativity without change, no new friends, no new births. Without change, stagnation will eventually take over.

With every new discovery there is change and with every new discovery there is new life.

I'm thankful that this whole Sharona-Natalie thing has reminded me of that. I'm glad Tom and I hung in there and watched the remainin delightful shows on the discs. 

We're both anticipating Season 4.



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