Out of the mouths of babes, or in my case - my 40 year old baby brother...

After many years of working in the corporate world, doing all of the right things and doing what I thought I wanted to do it took a simple comment from my youngest brother to start me down an unexpected path that I still haven't mapped out. And he thinks I don't take him seriously.

I had the power suit, the business cards, the frequent flier miles and business network that told me I was successful. Heck, even the people at Delta's Crown Rooms recognized me in four airports. Certain flight crews were known to me as I was to them. In meetings with potential clients and various banks people worked their schedules around me. According to everyone I was very successful and happy, married to a great guy (thank god for him) who also had a thriving career. It was everything I dreamt of, even as I was being "socially successful" in college. I never doubted I would do well.

So, back to that dinner. We were eating at a well known steakhouse in Denver; my treat since they made the time and were newly married. We were talking about my job, their jobs and the fact that my husband and I only saw each other on weekends which were crammed with social activities and skiing with out of town guests. I commented that we spent more time together when we were dating. With all of the wisdom of a newlywed my brother pointed out that we have to make the time for each other, prioritize, find common interests. Such sage advice offered from someone who had been married for 90 days... But then he hit me with the arrow and didn't even realize it; "...I always thought you'd be a writer... I never figured out how you ended up where you are..." Out of the mouths of babes as they say.

Keeping in mind we grew up in a family of six, five brothers and one sister. Oh, that would be me. Not exactly the princess one would think. We were raised Catholic with an emphasis on our Irish roots. So yes, we were (and are) competitive, outspoken and still maintain a sense of humor that many people don't quite get. Our father was an officer in the military and while we moved frequently it wasn't as much as most families. We never lived on base because we were told that base housing couldn't accommodate a family our size. What a bummer for us since all we knew about base housing was occasional free rides from the MPs (don't tell) to the Officers Club for pooltime and free ice cream. Aah the optimism of kids, so far removed from reality. As adults we figured out that Mom just wanted a little slice of her own life, especially since Dad was gone so much. But I digress; the point is my youngest brother still thinks we all treat him like he is seven to this day and many days he is probably right.

So this blog is part of my journey. Not to rediscover myself like so many. I am who I am. But it is part of the continuum of my life that started so long ago with my love of books and the written word.