Molting

A girl in my class had a hermit crab as a pet in elementary school. She brought it in for show and tell one day; a small reddish crab with a shell on its back, housed in a circular metal cage. We eagerly crowded around, practically stacked on top of each other as only kids can do, our faces inches away from the wires to get a better look at the tiny creature.

She proudly began to tell us about her unusual pet – what it ate, what it did all day, how she cared for it, and other random information. I remember staring at it in amazement as she told us how the hermit crab would switch shells as it grew. My childhood imagination pictured the shell switch would be like changing clothes.

It wasn’t until recently that I learned the hermit crab isn’t just switching shells, it’s getting rid of its exoskeleton (external skeleton) and growing another. It’s a process called “molting” and is quite time-consuming and painful, but it allows the crab to grow.

The past couple months have been a time of transition for me, and looking at it now, it resembles a hermit crab in the process of molting.

I left one job and got another, which to some might not be that big of a deal. But I had been doing that job day in and day out for five years, and it had become part of my identity. What I did blended with who I was. Leaving meant I had to let go of an identity that defined me for so many years.

I’m not going to lie, it was painful to let go. I felt vulnerable without the job title and responsibilities, and it took time to mourn the loss of what was so familiar. But it forced me to rediscover the important things that make me who I am –the qualities and skills that make up my true identity – not the one given by an employer. It also helped me learn that true friends are friends no matter where you work or what you do.

I’ve noticed the past couple weeks I’ve been filled with a sense of peace and joy. My husband also noticed how happy I’ve been, and commented on it. That’s when it occurred to me that I’ve grown my new exoskeleton, and am feeling quite comfortable in it. Like the hermit crab the molting was challenging, but it helped me grow.