Happiness is finding beauty in the little things.
If someone asked me where I pictured myself at 25, I think I would have told them working for Edelman in NYC. No serious relationship — just weekends filled with family time and random lunch dates with friends.
It may sound like a dream to some, but it would have been pretty lonely compared to the life I live today. Of course, a career at Edelman was my ultimate goal in life. But with time, you realize there is more to life than a career.
Becoming a parent and moving far away from family and friends has taught me the importance of interdependence. Our little family works well because we rely on each other to make better decisions. As parents, Jeff and I do our best to place the boys first. To some, it might be weird how we refuse to stay anywhere more than 3-4 hours if we cannot bring our pup. Our thinking is, who wants to be left alone for that long? Of course, there are moments we really have to and we take him to the dog park prior to just to tire him out, but we do our best to not leave him home for too long.
I have always been close to my family, but like they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. With time, I have been able to appreciate my parents for who they are, and I am starting to notice that my father has a hard time saying "I love you" over the phone. But that is another topic I will have to discuss in a future post.
My ultimate goal in life is no longer to work for Edelman, nor any other PR firm I ever admired. With a degree under my belt and some years of experience in the marketing/journalism world, I have been able to use what I have learned with my own blog and have helped well-known and local companies spread the word about their campaigns.
Brainstorming ideas with family and friends has always been one of my favorite discussions. Nerd, much? My mistakes in the blogosphere have been quite helpful to me and my blogger friends, not only because I have learned to avoid some, but also because I can prevent others from making them as well.
My vacation days are family trips to local beaches and parks, and I do not have to answer an email while I am away, unless of course I choose to. And the people I work with understand that to me, family comes first — always!