Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Fifty-two. On my birthday this year I’m having a good laugh at some aspects of my life that have come full circle. As usual, they were not in the brochure.
Career
Way back in my formative years, I thought I wanted a career in marketing. In fact, I declared that major from the get-go when I entered college and went all-in getting involved in business clubs and whatnot. Then in my sophomore year I took a geology class as part of my science requirement. I fell in love.
So I promptly switched majors and didn’t look back. I worked in geology for a little while after graduating. But life’s twists and turns led me to motherhood and eventually homeschooling my little offspring rather than returning to my career.
That homeschooling-mom path in turn led to me starting this blog, becoming a freelance writer/photographer/social media person, meeting my dear man, moving out west, combining our professional skills, and becoming (ta-dah!) a small content-marketing business. Go fig!
Home
Speaking of falling in love with geology and moving out west, part of my degree requirement in college was to attend a geology field camp. That took place mostly in northern New Mexico, plus a little in Colorado. It was my first trip west of the Mississippi and it became my next love affair—I adored New Mexico. I knew at a minimum I wanted to move out west and always figured I’d end up in northern New Mexico.
But life happened. It does that, as you know. I ended up spending twenty-five-ish years in Atlanta and raising the kiddos. When homeschooling became my world, we began traveling all over North America, including the West. That overlapped with me building my freelance career, meeting all kinds of great outdoors-folk and content creators—including my dear man.
As my homeschooling-mom life came to an end and I was building a life with my sweetie, I ended up moving to Nevada with him. Nevada was great and I embraced all of its awesomeness. It took me a little while, but hey, I did eventually move out west.
Y’all know how that worked out in the wake of the pandemic, though—we left Nevada and moved to New Mexico. Granted we landed in southern New Mexico, not northern as I would have imagined 30 years ago, but life did come full circle for me ending up in the Land of Enchantment. And I’m good with that. We love our little town and its mild weather. The colder climate in the northern part of the state doesn’t suit my 52-year-old body the way it might have my younger one so I call it a win.
Family
Here’s my biggest not-in-the-brochure moment. My oldest kiddo moved here to Silver City a few months ago and is now working with us on our various websites and projects. So the blog I started as a personal outlet in the course of homeschooling a gazillion lifetimes ago has now become a true family business with the three of us working together.
I definitely did not see that one coming.
Self-assessment
Y’all know I do my little birthday life-review exercise every year. I have to admit I almost didn’t do it this time. I seriously considered sunsetting the project because my plate is just too damn full. The messy middle I talked about last year is only messier so far. There’s been almost no room for this old blog.
When I thought about these funny full circles though, I made myself get to it—reread all the old birthday posts and sit down and write. The fact that I felt too busy to do it is exactly why I needed to. It’s helped me put my life in perspective again—where I’ve been, where I am now, and how to keep moving forward.
Cheers, friends!
The Birthday Series
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