42

Today we awoke to a winter wonderland.  The snow was heavy and stuck to everything which was beautiful to look at.  Loralai’s school called out last night and my work had only a few people come in.  

Lee and I recently talked about how we as a society celebrate birthdays incorrectly.  We say we celebrate that we are starting our “whatever” year when in reality we are completing our “whatever”year.  This week this idea really struck a cord with me as I reflected on my life this past year.  I’ll be turning 42 this April and as any fan of SciFi knows, 42 is the answer to everything.  For me, this has really been a year of figuring out what makes me happy and making it happen.  This year I married my amazing husband in May.  I never knew that someone could match my weirdness so much and make me so happy all at the same time.  I am truly a better version of myself because of the relationship we have together.

Shortly after the wedding we spent the summer with family.  We departed on an amazing road trip to the west with the Brown family.  We visited Colorado, Yellowstone and Custer State Park.  We had an amazing time and I really got to know the Brown family better.  It really felt like we had been a part of their family forever which was amazing to have.

I’m July we joined the rest of the Herndon family in Florida for a wonderfully relaxing week.  We again really got to know the other family members and grew as a family.  It was a great opportunity to get to know my nephews better.  We had a great time and learned that my parents are taking a huge adventure that we couldn’t be happier about. Inspired by this adventure, Lee and I started to plan out our own trips for the next 5 years.  There is no reason to wait to plan our future.

Shortly after returning from our trip, I received notification that I was chosen for a position at Bayer.  This change in career had come after a long time of soul searching and being honest with myself about what I really want and need in my life.  It was not an easy decision to make but it was absolutely necessary for my and my family’s happiness and quality of life.  My frustrations and stress have been decreased so much that I have really no complaints.  I have changed tremendously and I am so happy that I made the decision to leave.  I realized that titles, the hope of a promotion or being proud of what you have done should not overshadow your gut feelings when things are just not right for you.  You can work incredibly hard and put everything you have into your job but at the end of the day if they don’t appreciate you or your hard work it will never get better no matter how hard you try to make it.  I love the team I am on and couldn’t be happier that I have a manager that is dedicated to success while caring about each individual’s health and well-being.  

While I still don’t have all of the answers, I do know that family, friends and a healthy work life is important to me and that I need to focus on what is going to strengthen myself and my family.  Here’s to the rest of my 42nd year on Earth and to the other answers I will figure out!