Out on a walk last week, I was contemplating the idea of “going full circle”. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile as I realized that my birthday marked my 30th anniversary of quitting my job in Indiana for my 26th birthday present to myself. I had decided, while riding on a boat surrounded by the water and mountains of Lucerne, Switzerland in July of ‘81 that if I wanted to fulfill my dream of moving “out west” I’d best do it soon. Returning to my job at Hill Rom in Southern Indiana after my month long sojourn to Europe, I thought I could work for 2 months, save some money and then quit my job for my birthday present. That’s exactly what I did.
I never thought, when I drove my packed full of boxes VW out I-70 to Denver that October, that I’d live “out west” my entire adult life. But that’s what happened. I realized as Mark and I boarded the plane in Indianapolis last Tuesday (headed to Ft. Lauderdale to visit his Mom) that I’ve been on planes to Indiana at least once a year (and more times than not two or three times a year) for 30 years.
This past week when visiting “home” we took in, not only the Purdue/Notre Dame football game, complete with the tailgating, but a walk around Columbia Park (it looked much smaller). It felt “full circle” as we sat at the Frozen Custard, lunched at Arni’s and visited with family and friends
Not only have I come “full circle” with my move west and trip home but my launching Words and Watercolors again feels like I’ve gone “full circle”. Initially I launched a small greeting card line in ’94 with the same name. It wasn’t the time then as I was pulled in many directions as a Mom, Corporate Sales Queen and Wife. With life changing so drastically the past few years after my marriage to Mark, it seemed like the timing was right….thus “full circle”.
An invitation for Ron and Steve’s retirement party on October 25th arrived the other day. Ron and Steve are Henriksen/Butler respectively, the owners of a very large, successful Herman Miller Dealership in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was one of the first full time designer’s they hired back in 1983 and then transitioned to Sales after my son was born in 1984. I have always felt a great deal of gratitude to them for allowing me to enter sales. The Corporate Sales world I entered became my career and one that lasted for 25 years till I moved to San Francisco.
Also I’ve reconnected with an old architect friend from Utah…it’s all part of the “full circle” theme that seems to be going on this month.
Do you have any “full circle” experiences? Isn’t is fun to go back and “connect the dots” as Steve Jobs talked about in his address to Stanford in 2005 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM. Mark and I watched this first about a month ago, after Steve had stepped down from Apple as CEO. His message is timely and enduring. I loved his story of connecting the dots…your really don’t know how things/people/places you encounter will change you in the future…but keep an open mind and you’ll see it all play out in “full circle”!
