Last night I was watching “How I Met Your Mother”, one of my all time favorite shows. Despite the fact that it is a sitcom, it seems each episode either includes a lesson/moral of the story OR better yet, makes you reflect on your own life. In the episode, Ted, Marshall and Barney are getting together for a viewing of the Star Wars Trilogy, which they have done every three years since college. Each time they watch it, they imagine how their lives will be three years into the future, when they watch it again. And every three years their lives somehow didn’t turn out quite the way they planned. I think most of us can relate to this, and it made me reflect on my own life, what I thought would be and how wrong I was, and about what I envision three years into the future, which I may not be right about. Three years ago, I was working a corporate job, which I have to admit, I did not care for very much. However, at that point, the money was good and I imagined it would get better. I had wild dreams that the company I was working for might upgrade their computer operating systems to something invented in this century. I imagined, all of the inefficient processes would be streamlined and I, of course being the hero of the story, would be the one to save the day and implement this whole process. In my 2009 “head”, I would be running the whole company by 2012 and receiving large bonuses and pats on the back. My family would be living in a half million dollar house on the Bay and our summer home would be at some swanky resort in Door County. I would travel to Europe on a yearly basis, during the five week vacation the company awarded me with because I was so darn good!!
As you all know, that did not happen. And I am glad it didn’t. When God closes a door, he opens a window. I lost that job. I am still not sure why. I was told the department was being “re-organized”, and I was hurt; because I thought did my job well. But maybe those who made the decision to eliminate my position could see my unhappiness with my job there. Maybe I was that transparent. Maybe I wasn’t that good at putting on the face of the happy employee, thinking I was hiding my disillusionment with my job with the skills of a Ninja. So here I am three years later, more than halfway done with my Associate’s Degree in the Paralegal Program. Working as much as I can in a law office, which is the BEST job I have ever had. I don’t have that half million dollar home, nor do I go on trips to Europe. Yet, I spend a lot more time with my kids, being a mom and wife, cooking and cleaning and playing taxi driver. And when I wake up each morning, I look forward to the day ahead of me.
Three years from now, I imagine I will be working full-time, perhaps long hours in (hopefully) this same law office. One of my sons will be almost finished with college, and the other following a path that may yet to be determined, but possibly in the Military. My daughter will be in High School, straight A student of course. Three years from now, I will also still be writing, maybe even publish a book. (Ok it might just be a cute little book called “My Facebook Memoirs”, but it will be funny and you will all want to read it!) Though I am pretty sure I won’t be traveling to Europe, realistically I may be just traveling the United States in an RV, camping at National Parks on vacation. Though I will be done with school, I will still be in contact with my instructors and classmates from NWTC. I am trying to be a bit more realistic when looking into the future this time!
Last week, I sat in a friend’s living room with her and two other friends (all of us students at NWTC, though a variety of ages and program choices) and talked and laughed. The four of us haven’t always been friends, but something brought us together, though if you had told me two months ago those four people would be spending time together, I probably never would have believed it. The truth is, you never know what is going to happen in the future, and when you find yourself there, you may be pleasantly surprised.
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