Exactly who do you think you are? or The search for identity

When I was in fourth grade we had a career dress-up day. Amy wore her swimsuit because she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer; Mary dressed up as a chef; Bonnie was dressed as a construction worker. (It was a good look for Bonnie as she already had a mullet.) I couldn't figure it out, so I dressed as a teacher, because as far as I could tell, they wore regular clothes.

In college, my friend Melissa told me that her dream was to be surrounded by books. We took a writing class together, and that is all she talked about - being surrounded by books. What did she want? To be a librarian? Or to just sit in a room and read all day? (That last one sounded more likely.)

But I still never figured it out. And that must be why my resume is considered "diverse" and I can honestly tell people that I've worn a lot of different hats in my career. Or careers. (The lines blur.)

That also must be the reason why every Christmas, I get a "you're lost" gift from my mother. She doesn't call them that. She had all sorts of ideas about the person I could become. But I stopped listening and she resorted to speaking to me through books. Name a find yourself/follow your dreams/create a passion book and it is probably on my shelf. It is one thing to be lost; it is another thing to have people point it out to you and have it gift-wrapped.

I wonder about those people who have been in one job for 20 or 30 years (they still exist) and how boring their resumes look. I envy their Christmas gifts.

Sitting in a room reading books all day sounds lovely, but maybe it depends on the books you are reading. As for me, I think I need to crack open some of those books my mom gave me.

But there is one thing I do know about myself: I'm a mom. And that is a great place to start. So, let me take a look at the things I learned right the first time and the things I need to learn again because I didn't listen the first time.