A Year Later. A Letter to my Son.

I’ve seen many variations to this; some full of hopes and dreams, some full of advice and wisdom, some written in sequence, some simply gushed out as loving prose from parents full of aspirations for their children.

After realizing that I managed to raise a loving, healthy, advantageous, and most of all inspirational young man to the ripe old age of one, I am ready to write a letter to my son, expressing all that I hope he learns in the many years to come.

To my precious little boy,

I hope that you learn to listen, love, and live like tomorrow will always come.

I wish for you a heart that knows trust and honesty, and never falters from sharing that, in turn, to others.

I want for you to be surrounded by friends and family that test you, support you, and rely on you.

I pray for you to find happiness in being yourself. Know that you’re the king of being you and no one else does it better than you.

I desire for you a path that is bumpy, winding, and sometimes uphill. Character building happens in greater proportions on the roads less traveled.

Know your strength.

Don’t tell your mother everything, but know you can tell your mother anything and she will still love you.

Save for a rainy day and eat dessert.

Love,

Mom

I Un-resolve To….

Every year, every single year.  You know who they are –  From January to mid-February they occupy your treadmill at the gym, take over the break room fridge with fresh fruit, and post motivational quotes everywhere – the “New Year Resolutioners.”

Hey, I’ve done it before too.

But not this year! 2012 is my year of un-resolutions.  No more declarations of doing, this year I have dedicated myself to a decree of stopping.

Humor me ….

In 2012 I un-resolve to:

5.  Pretend I am not looking at the screen of the person next to me at the gym.  In 2012 I will stare directly at your distance, speed and calories burned.  I’ll admit it, I want to know. I will judge you / adjust mine accordingly.

4. Pick fantasy football teams for their jersey color. In 2012 I will make it known that I strongly believe the following: Atlanta will cover the spread; don’t take Dallas; Flacco struggles against the 3-4, take Tampa; Cincinatti will get 13.5 at the Jets; don’t bet more than $1 on any game where Seattle or KC is playing; Tim Tebow is part man, part Greek god.

3.  Be “that” girl who spells everything out. 2012 is obv toats the year off abbrevs! They’re super presh and abso adorbz. However, I will continue to wage my personal war against PiPl WhO TyPe Lik Diz!

2.  Settle. In 2012 I will spread my wings, take chances, find that place where my heart meets my mind…. and eat more vegetables.

1.  Rinse and repeat. In 2012 I will remember that once is enough.

Best wishes to you all on a happy, healthy, thriving year for you and yours. And remember, that world can’t end in 2012 – Marty drove the DeLorean to 2015, you’ve got some time!

Worth At Least 2,000 Words!

It happens, it always does.  One minute you’re clicking through your Flickr album, perusing the Facebook archives or scrolling your way down digital camera memory lane and then WHAMMY!

I present, “Worth at least 2,000 words – When Bad Pics Happen To Good People”

*Never fear, these are all of me so none other than my ego was harmed in the making of this post*

Because one Port-O-Potty is never enough background fodder

No really, this face just happens to everyone forced to wear an Alex Smith jersey.

Fear the thumbs!!!

See – I really do look better after a tall cold one.

There I go again, overexposing myself in Las Vegas.

At least I was color-coordinated.  Yay beer!

 

Happy Photoshop to you all and to all a high-resolution zoom lens.

Fool Me Once…

O, I know the saying all too well, but it hasn’t stopped me yet. I have even modified it a bit over the years to the point that the ending now sounds a bit more like …. Fool me 16 times and now I must just be learning a lesson – the hard way. Indulge me in the sharing of my most recent encounters with this phrase of wisdom.

Parking in downtown Sacramento: So what if the meter maids exhibit a sixth sense ability to present themselves no later than 36 seconds after I am out of time, I will still try to eek out 5 more minutes of lunch with the girls before dashing back to my car. Fool me once … and I will be making my $30 check payable to the city of Sacramento.

Switching lanes on the freeway: Good-ness this lane seems to be moving much slower than the others. Flip the turn signal; merge with just enough time to slam on the breaks as now THIS lane has come to an abrupt halt. Fool me once … genius idea, I’ll merge back!

Having pizza delivered to an apartment: “(530) xxx-xxx … Yes, that is the correct address … Yes, same order as last time … Nope, no additional sides needed … That does sound like a fantastic deal, but no thank you … paying with cash … 30-45, great!” Fool me once … “Ok, I’ll just walk out to the front and try to find his car.”

Clearly there are just some lessons I am immune to learning from.  Happen to you?

Are You Tough?

Scene:  Third story board room; myself and two recruiters oppositely nestled amongst a sea of black chairs meaningfully placed around a vast, but empty conference table. Here it comes ….. one of them asks, “Carrie, are you tough”?

I dutifully rattled off some muddled answer and got a nod in reply, however hours later, my Monday morning quarterback thought process just cannot shake that question out of my head.  Should I have been more witty? Should I have deflected my answer towards one of my less abrasive strengths? Wait…. AM I TOUGH?

Am I the lion or the lamb? With what level of commitment do I hold my ground?

My mind is breaking the speed limit.  Confidence, conscience and conviction my passengers along for the ride.

It is these thought provoking, self-reflection questions that any good HR person asks and that most candidates (now, me included) stumble over.  Why does it seem to bother so many to claim they’re “tough”?  I’ll admit that I wasn’t quick to jump at adding that word to my brand.  It seems too rough, almost rigid.  I want to diligently portray my commitment to my craft without sounding so abrasive, yet simultaneously protecting myself from sounding flighty and undeserving of a challenge.

So, am I Tough? No.

I am Firm. Passionate. Strong. Unwavering. Persistent.