MAKING THE MOST OUT OF WHAT LIFE HANDS YOU

Last night a young friend, still in her 20's, told me somewhat apologetically that she had "wasted a lot of time" figuring out what to do with her life. I had to laugh, for it was obvious she knew nothing about my career-hopping history. My reply to her was that none of it was wasted - it was all part of the path. As long as you learned something along the way, that is.

I remember a conversation my sister and I once had, about attending high school reunions. She bemoaned the fact that she was one of the few that was still unmarried and without children, while I hated having to go and answer everyone's "What do you do?" queries with "Oh, I'm just a housewife." Like my young friend, I was a bit embarrassed by all the time I had wasted - starting over in new jobs each time my husband got transferred, taking time out to raise babies, not working at all while we were in Indonesia... It wasn't until much later that I could look back and put it all into perspective. When I finally landed the job of my dreams, as a visual merchandiser, hardly a day went by that I didn't send up a little prayer of thanks for all that "wasted" time, and the skills that each of those little jobs and oddball life experiences taught me.

I honed my organizational skills working for a caterer back in west Texas, while the kiddos were wee tots. I learned to make those lists and check 'em twice, before loading up the van for a gig that might be a couple of hours away. You sure didn't want to show up for a party, only to discover you'd left all of the sterno, or maybe a wedding cake, back at the kitchen! My boss there was a whiz at tablescaping, and taught me all of her tricks for turning a boring buffet where every platter sits flat on the table, into an eye-catching arrangement of varied heights and blended colors that could stop you in your tracks - tricks I used every single time I had to arrange new merchandise on the tables and shelves of the giftshop. Without the plant knowledge I picked up in horticulture and landscaping, I would have been mixing shade plants with sun lovers in my outdoor displays. Customers who fell in love with my combinations, and tried to recreate them at home, would have been very unhappy when half the plants crapped out on them right away. I picked up similar skills from each of my other jobs, and as you can see in these photos, one thing we all learned in our time overseas was how to improvise and make do with what is at hand. We made our own fun (if you call being shoved up onto an elephant fun), provided our own entertainment (what I wouldn't give for my hubby's legs!) and whipped up costumes out of draperies and coat hangers (yes, that headless horseman IS amazing).

Now, once again, I've moved in a new direction - to writing! Would I even be sitting here at this very moment, with pen in hand...would I ever have agreed to marry John and follow him to Indonesia the first time...would I now have almost three year's worth of blog posts under my belt, and books yet unwritten about our travels and adventures...if I had been determined to focus on one career, stay in one place, with one company, for the last 35 years? I think not. Which is why I told young Stephanie, "None of it was wasted - it's all part of your path." It's what will shape you, into the woman you are meant to become!