reflections on 42

Today is my 42nd birthday. If you'd asked me 20 years ago what my life would look like at 42, I'm certain the answer would have been different than the reality. Then I was about to graduate from college and heading to OSU to work on my MBA. I anticipated working somewhere in the midwest, at some point meeting a great guy and having 2-3 children. So here I sit, in Metairie, LA, not in the midwest, not working (in a "career" position!), married with 2 kids. How in the world did I get here?

Well, it started in grad school with interviews. I managed to wrangle an interview with Shell, even though they were targeting people in Finance. From that, I managed an on-site interview, and got an offer. So I headed to Houston. After a slight wrong turn (that thankfully got me where I was meant to be!), I found Tom. We settled in Houston, had 2 daughters, and then found ourselves both being transferred overseas. So we worked in The Hague for almost 3 years. And then my assignment ended and Tom got transferred to New Orleans. So we decided to try out a new scheme with me not working and see how that worked out. Overall, it's good. A LOT busier than I ever envisioned. But I'm able to focus attention on what I believe to be most important -- raising 2 girls in this rather imposing world. Often at the expense of Tom and me.......

On the whole, I'm content, joyful, hopeful, and enjoy what I do. Many days are crazy, but I'm thankful for all the blessings I've received.............