'Tis the season for a little reflection

As I type this, I am completely in awe that Christmas and New Year's are both right around the corner. Another year that seemed to pass in the blink of the eye is just about behind us..and oh what a year it has been. More than anything (be it the heaps of great memories, loads of laughs, and oodles of tears), I think this past year has been marked by a great deal of personal growth. That term sounds so boring and bland compared to what it really means in relation to the last 365 or so days.


I think the obvious reason is clear. Losing a job that I adored was quite hard. Standing at the front door when my husband came home after losing his was just as hard. It’s times like this where you find out very quickly what truly matters in life. Sure I was bitter and mad and felt like a total failure but I quickly realized, while all of those emotions were a completely natural way to respond, they certainly wouldn’t get me anywhere. So I let it go and got over it. It wasn’t easy, but it was clear that it’s what I needed to do in order to make the best of the situation.


We were asked constantly “What in the world are you going to do? How is the mortgage going to get paid? What about bills, groceries, insurance…?” I would be lying if I said I wasn’t in panic mode for few days, but the answer was simple….you make things happen. We make things happen. Between the unemployment benefits and random ‘acting’ gigs (who knew non-unioned film extras made so much), we managed to stay afloat. Here is shot of the fearless film crew at the commercial shoot:



I was eager to get back to work. I hadn’t not worked in forever - the feeling of not being burdened by the alarm clock and not dealing with rush hour was completely foreign to me. I set a goal of applying for so many jobs per week and spending so many hours per day searching, applying, networking and researching. I had never experienced as much rejection in my life as I did this past summer. But through that rejection I became resilient and more confident in who I was as a professional. Not to mention I got some stellar interviewing practice out of it.

But let’s be honest, you can only sit inside in front of the laptop and on the phone for so long. It was summer and the pool was calling my name. As was the tennis court and driving range. I enjoyed every last ounce of my time off. It was glorious. We even managed to spend some downtime in Aspen:

As cliché as it sounds, this past year speaks to the fact that everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t be more thankful for where I am personally and professionally – with an amazing new gig. As crappy and hard as times were, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. And I know husband feels the same way.