Unrealistic expectations. I believe we all start out with them. When I was growing up in a small town, I was not exposed to life anywhere else. Thinking that all there was to life for me, was to get married, have children, and be there for my husband. Well that didn't work out so pretty good.
I did not go to college, as a drinking incident put me on probation (and I was too embarrassed to continue.) So I went to Parsons Business School, where I studied Fashion Merchandising. I have to admit that was fun and one of the highlights was a trip to New York City with a couple of my fellow students. We visited a few of the fashion houses on 7th Avenue. That was back when Bobbie Brooks was around and I think we even met Geoffrey Beene. It was very exciting, but I limited my options by not attending college.
So what happened was I started working at a bank, in Delton, married the first guy that asked me, from Delton, pretty much limiting what I could get out of life. The best thing that happened to me from that first marriage was my son. So after the divorce we continued on and ventured to Kalamazoo where I had better opportunities.
Sure enough I worked myself up the food chain both in my work and love life. It was not easy but within the next 5 years I married a great guy and had a great job at a major employer. By the time we moved to Washington in 2004, I had owned my own real estate business for 8 years. But none of that was planned ahead of time. Yes I put in the work, but on the fly, more or less. When I found myself really not liking a job I explored my options (there's that word again) and I found that indeed, I did have options.
Once again at age (gasp) 60, I find myself restless and wanting more out of life. I am in the midst of researching some alternatives. So just as I was ready to flag down my waiter to tell them this not the life I ordered, I find that maybe it's a good thing that I did not have a plan, because after all, I have options.
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