Time to evaluate

I love fall.

I love fall because as a kid, I loved back to school time. I was the kind of kid that played school and did book reports during the summer (even while we were on vacation) because I enjoyed it.

Shopping for back to school was always a highlight- especially the school supplies. The magic of back to school is that in a small way, you get to reinvent yourself every year. Last year’s binder may have been been pink but this year’s could be anything.

So for me, fall is a time of reinvention.

As an adult, it means reassessment. I am a goal oriented person. It’s all about the process. I talked about this particular quality of mine in Planning in Pencil. 

I believe that I have to know where I’m going, what I want out of life. A few years ago, I attended a business management seminar at a professional development conference for massage therapists. The speaker asked each participant for their business’s mission statement. Many didn’t have one. He stressed that it was essential that each business create a mission statement and constantly measure their performance against it. Why wouldn’t I apply the same principle to my life?

I’ve gotten away from that in the last 18 months or so. In December of 2008, my Soldier came down on short notice orders- we had 30 days to move from Ft Lewis in WA state to Ft Leonard Wood, MO. Three days later, I discovered I was pregnant. (I had the thought the minute my husband called and told me about the orders) 6 months later and 7 months pregnant, we were moving again to Ft Campbell. Monkey arrived 4 weeks early and mid-PCS.

For quite a while after Monkey’s arrival, I was just trying to keep my head above water.

We celebrated Monkey’s 1st birthday in July. I’m finally feeling like I have a grasp on things. Like I can challenge myself again without getting buried and overwhelmed. Which means that its time for some reflection and self-evaluation. What exactly is my mission? What’s getting me there? What’s not?

What’s my next step?