Change.

So, it has been two years since I last posted on my blog. I feel moved this week to make a reappearance...

I know leaving a job and a company you really love working for is hard. But imagine trying to leave a company you have spent most of your (short) professional career convincing others to come and work for. It has been more difficult than I ever imagined. But, it is something I feel prepared for at least…

I have always thought myself to be one who thrives on change. I attribute this now (though reluctantly because that would make my mom right yet again) to constantly being exposed to change as a normal part of life. From the time I was 6 years old until my junior year of high school my life was one big change parade. I moved 2000 miles away from my family and friends in one hot summer week. Quickly , I established new friends and learned to cope with seeing my dad and the rest of my extended family during the summer months. Close to the time I turned 16, we turned right back around and headed east to Michigan once more – 10 years of my life invested in a place I hardly get back to. I went from a high school of nearly 3000 students to a school of less than 700 nearly overnight. A small fish in a big pond to a big fish in a small pond – I know, I know it seems like a piece of cake, doesn’t it? At the time, it was a miserable experience and I never imagined being able to forgive my mom for making me move in the prime of my high school career. I didn’t know any better – I was a kid. As much as I still miss some of my friends from Henderson, I have since thanked my mom for moving us back. I never would have went to Hope, spent a semester in DC, or met my husband – those are the clear obvious reasons. But, it also helped me welcome change and know how to adjust to new things at lightning speed.

Change doesn’t scare me, it excites me. But, it is still really, really hard. Just like moving when I was 16 was hard because of all my friends and relationships I had made, it is hard for me to think about not seeing some of the amazing people I have had the opportunity to work with over the last 6 years. I thrive on meeting new people, building relationships, surrounding myself with friends and just generally being a part of people’s lives.

But I was comfortable and I don’t like comfortable. I love change and newness and flourish by starting over from scratch frequently. It’s time to move on! And, I need to follow my heart and do what I feel called to do. It isn’t easy, but it feels right…

So, thanks, mom for helping me to welcome change and be the change. Because of you I am successful in life and in my work. Your little girl is off to even bigger and better things. Happy Mother’s Day!

To Tweet or Not to Tweet - That is the question?

So, I am at a crossroad in my life, where, I feel like I need to decide if I am going to Tweet, Blog or FB (certainly a dilemma my parent's generation was never faced with). Of course I am being a bit sarcastic here, but you get the point! I can't possible do all of them, and quite frankly don't know how people do, or want to! I have spent most of my young adult life in front of a computer (mostly for work, not for play), and though I like keeping up on what is hip and cool and "viral" I feel my life passing before my eyes - or maybe that is just my reflection in the monitor? Working in an office environment, I wouldn't be able to survive without my beloved PC. As a recruiter, I am constantly on the Internet networking, sourcing, researching, fact-finding and brainstorming new ways to get the best of the best. Creating process flow maps, writing job postings, reviewing resumes, reading cover letters, listening to voice mails, e-mails - it is all done at my computer. Even when I phone interview someone, I type while I talk, so I don't have to write it down later. So tell me, why do I want to come home and sit in front of a computer for another two hours, to tweet and blog? I don't, but I do. I don't want to because there are so many other things that need to be done or I should be doing. I want to because it seems like the only way to keep in touch with people anymore, because we are all too busy blogging or tweeting or joining a cause on Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for social network sites, Google-ing, and everything in between... but do I really need to be doing all these things? To be determined. The jury is still out on Twitter - I am going to see what it is all about (though I created an account 3 months ago and got on it for the first time yesterday). Blogging is good in moderation (hence, the two posts since October). And as for Facebook - I am learning that I can get by without checking it out everyday. Though, I have reconnected with people that live over 2000 miles away, and that has been amazing.

Only time will tell how I decide to utilize all of these online mediums. But I do know this -nothing beats sitting around a table at a friends house for three plus hours and laughing so hard my abs felt like they did during volleyball tryouts freshwoman year. Nothing is better than seeing one of your best friends smile from ear to ear (in person) as she talks about her upcoming wedding and how much she loves him. There is no online album or video message or text that will ever replace the hugs and laughs and tears shared with dear and special friends.

70 is the new 50!

My Grandma turned 70 today. We celebrated this past weekend, but today was her actual birthday (yes, April Fools Day)! The picture here is of her and I, and the cake I brought for her, from de Boer (no relation) Bakerij in Holland. I can only hope I still have the energy and look as amazing as she does at 70! I love you Grammy, with all my heart! XOXO.