When the Wind Blows. . .

"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache." ~ Catherine the Great





For several years, I've written a blog called "Teen Talk" for our local Moms Like Me site and newspaper wherein I've aired my family's dirty laundry for all of my hometown and anyone with access to the World Wide Web to see.  It's rather freeing, actually, to know that there are people who take a little peek at your soul and don't think you're nuts. . .or, if they DO think you are nuts, at least you've kind of grown on them.  :) (Yeah, I'm a fan of the smiley face too. . .and the double entendre. . .)


Now that I'm almost bereft of teens about whom to talk (Engine #9 won't be coming around that mountain for about 3 more years. . .however, I believe she's going off the rails some days!) I guess I need to start planning for a future in which my kids aren't the reason I live, breathe and drive all over town.  Dare I suggest it is time, after 24 years of motherhood, for me to begin to consider what I want to be when I grow up?

Not that I haven't always "earned my keep."  There have been times when I knocked on doors in my neighborhood and cleaned houses with two toddlers in-tow.  Later,  I was an assistant in a Montessori school so that my kids could attend for a reduced tuition.   I worked in my father's convenience stores for several years and was able to adjust my schedule to accommodate kids.  After the birth of my 4th child, I started my own Concierge service and delivered cribs, strollers, groceries, flower petals (etc!!) to vacationers at the beach.  That rolled along successfully until Ivan rolled in and blew our beach away.

In the way that doors close and windows open,  about that time my husband's business picked up and he needed my help as a sort of "girl Friday."  I ran errands, handled appointments, I even jumped in and got my hands dirty. . . okay, actually, I just felt like "RocketMom" wearing the backpack blower.

And just to make sure my life was a breeze, a second window opened to homeschooling.  And we shouldn't forget the that I was paid to write my blog and column.  Then there was the extra crispy I picked up with my annual 10-day feather ruffle in the "Chicken Coop" - our name for the ticket booth at the fair.  I've even been a high-end lingere store Model (I kept the line straight for them on Black Friday), I was in Theater for a time (well, the box office of our local performing arts theater) and I was the face of a major cosmetics company (I walked the floor holding a tray-full of samples.)  Hey, the non-parenthetical descriptions look better on a resume!

So now the great wind is blowing me toward City government, and I feel like all of the skills I've acquired along the way have been preparing me for this moment (not the least of which that I've raised three voting-aged children!!)   I am a problem-solver, a hard worker, a negotiator - and don't forget, I also have the patience of a grandma.

It doesn't mean I'm in for smooth sailing. . .sometimes a great wind will give you imagination AND a headache.