So where am I?  Where am I headed?  Where have I been?  Let’s tackle these one area at a time.  And since I seem to spend a lot of time there, let’s start with work.  I’m actually very happy with my job – moreso than I can recall ever having been with any other job.  Prior to this one, the longest I’ve been with a job is 3 years.  And with most the honeymoon felt like it was over within the first one (sometimes sooner).  I am only 2 1/2 years into my current tenure, but this job feels much different than 2 years into any other job.  I work with good people that I respect and enjoy.  I have respect and recognition in my own work.  And I do something that I enjoy doing and keeps me excited and challenged.  I can’t say that I’m soaring up the rungs to becoming someone huge and important, but I’m really not an ambitious person – my family is more important to me than my career and my job fits that just fine.

Speaking of my family, my daughter is only about 6 months from starting Kindergarten.  A colleague that I’ve been growing closer to also has a son who is starting next Fall, but he is planning to send his son to a private school.  I feel like something about that should bother me, but it really doesn’t.  If that is what he wants for his children, more power to him.  I personally am perfectly content to sed my kids to public school (after all, it is a lot cheaper).  Ten years ago, I might have gotten into a discussion with him over it to see if he really thinks it is worth the money (I often enjoyed playing devil’s advocate in such scenarios).  Maybe it is a change in perspective that comes with age.  Why argue over who’s right?  Can’t we both be right?

Another thing that I would have argued with some about a decade ago would be religion.  I was raised with a split religious background.  And by split I mean that my mother was an evangelical baptist and my father was diametrically opposed to church in general.  By grade school I was “saved”.  By high school I was a church youth group regular (to be honest, there were cute girls there).  And by college I had a number of doubts that could not be abated by theologic discussion.  For a while I became a lot like my dad – I felt like organized religion was a lie and didn’t want any part of it.  I would use my doubts to question others on the merits of their own faith (for that I have some regret).  By now, I still feel strongly that religion is a placebo that has no place in my life, but I have no problem with those who choose to make it a part of theirs.  Who am I to tell others how to live?

I think what surprises me most about where I’ve come to arrive in life is the perspectives of others about me.  I grew up with a lot of doubt and a severe lack of confidence.  It took me a long time to really come out of my shell.  And yet I get the impression from some of those who know me now who never knew me when I was younger that the expect I was born confident and sarcastic.  I’ve actually found myself advising myself to be less forward and direct as I have to be conscious of how I may affect the confidence of others.  Funny how life works sometimes.

So with all this, I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride in life.  I can’t say that I have all the answers.  I’m certainly not sitting pretty (I’ve got plenty of debts and plenty more things I need to try to afford).  But I like who I am, where I am, and where things are headed.  I like what I do, I love my family (and they seem to love me), and I feel like I’ve got traction to keep the momentum going.  Now to figure out what specific things I need to tackle next.  I think the first thing on my list is a new family car.  Any suggestions?