This Is Who I Am?

I just saw a Southwest commercial where different employees say, "This is what I do," and show them in their various positions of pilot, bag handler, and flight attendant. In the next scene they say, "This is who I am," and you see the same person in a position of service - talking to kids at school or preparing a meal for a family at a Ronald McDonald House. I found this commercial intriguing, because it asked me a question - "Who are you?"

I think about it because after I stopped teaching, I lost a little bit of "who I am." Teaching is a way of life because the duties, responsibilities, and concerns are rarely left at your classroom door. Teaching is a pattern of behavior with thoughts and habits that affect nearly every moment and experience of your life. So once I left that arena, it wasn't just leaving a job - it was losing a part of me.

So now I find myself wondering, "Who am I?" What matters to me now, and how am I going to pursue it? Certainly there is no better time to find out. It's the beginning of a new year and a new decade. 2010 will be the beginning of a new experience of being a grandmother. My children are grown adults and heading off on their own adventures. I'm trying to downsize physically and determine what is important and needs to be kept and what can be discarded. I'm reconnecting with high school and college friends and remembering who I was once upon a time.

So I'll add this to my list of 2010-ers. I'll determine who I am and set out to live me. Because the best part of finding out who I am will be sharing it.
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Things that make today great: Ruby Tuesday brunch and Trader Joe's with Sam, Lynnette, Maribeth, and Mathieu; Krogering with Steve; Grayson licking my eyebrow