birthday

Today I turned 50. Today I am the oldest I have ever been. I have always been one to just plow ahead and move forward not giving much thought to what I was looking for. Being reflective and sentimental has never been a big part of my DNA but I am working on it. So today I am going to take a little time to reflect.

The smartest thing I possibly ever did was meet Fred and marry him. Our relationship has been a 30-year journey that has been incredible and will only continue to get better as each day passes. We are a great team; great partners and have the utmost respect for each other. All of the career decisions that I have made over the course of my life have been made with Fred.

We made them as partners based on what made sense for our family. Getting off the track of a career that had run its course was the right move at that time when we had two young kids at home and were living in the suburbs. We didn’t have two nickels to rub together but we made it work. My endless desire to always start new things has probably worked well for me on my career path.

I started this blog 8 years ago figuring that something might come of it and it would help me figure out my next step moving forward. The kids were getting older and although I have always worn many hats I needed to find a hat that I could call my own. Over the last couple of years being involved with the incredible community on this blog has been pretty powerful. It has also led me to be lucky enough to become an angel investor with many brilliant entrepreneurs who I believe in wholeheartedly. I enjoy being involved, thinking strategically and watching the growth of their companies. I was in someone’s office this week and I was telling him that one of my favorite jobs was being an assistant store manager where I managed one-third of an entire store nurturing each manager to grow and get promoted to their next job. It is probably why I love doing what I do now, in many ways it is the same thing.

Yet regardless of all the career stuff, getting on and off the track, it is the people and friends that we have met and accumulated over the years the most special. Some have been part of our life for years and others have recently come into our life. Fred and I are consistent in our love for the start-up. We are always meeting new people and love bringing them into our lives, we love collecting art from young artists who are just emerging, we love exploring new places that have yet to become known, we love hiring people who are starting out in their careers.

Yet, at the end of the day it is all about our children. The most successful venture we will ever have. Those years I stayed home were probably not such a bad thing. Watching our kids become thoughtful, philanthropic (with their time), independent thinkers and confident adults is the most precious gift of all. I am sure the next couple of years will be interesting once all of our kids leave the nest. What happens next, who knows. I seem to be able to always figure out how to move forward, re-invent and roll up my sleeves into each phase of life...and always enjoy every moment.