ducey

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a Thursday night gathering with 4 independent entrepreneurial women in the Boulder area. My friend Michelle had just put in her notice at Commarts and has struck out on her own as a freelance architect. Turning an ear to the constant comments she receives about the state of the economy and the overload of freelance architects in Boulder, she is trusting her instincts and following her dream. In our company that evening were three women who I felt somewhat in awe to be sharing a bottle of wine with. A Washington DC economist, a Denver developer, and a woman who has had too many impressive careers to be identified by any of them (it took her 4 hands to count the many hats she's worn during her working career, though they included job titles such as "politician and head of the board for this and that for the New York City Governor", "astrologist", "mother", "outward-bound leader" and most recently "highly sought-after business analyst and public speaker" for large and small companies nation-wide). Having just turned 67, she was a wealth of information and life-knowledge. I joked with Michelle on our way home that night that next time we see we're going to bring a little tape-recorder with us because everything she said was something I wanted to write down and remember. The most memorable concept for me that came up that evening was the idea of renewing and re-creating ourselves throughout our lives. "The universe abhors a vacuum," she said. Once we open ourselves up to the possibilities of other ways to live, other jobs, other relationships, it's amazing what we will encounter. She compared it to the trim-tab on a boat. The trim-tab is so small in comparison to the size of the boat, yet the tiniest adjustment to the trim tab and the direction of the entire boat changes. Such as it is in life also. As women, we are meant to create, to give life. Maybe that's why we get so enthralled in creative activities, in learning new skills. We (hopefully) are always re-creating ourselves as well. I think about my grandmothers in this aspect, one who returned to playing violin and joined an orchestra in her seventies. The other who is 83 and is the head of the historical society in her town. Even my mom, who has taken leadership positions in her church in the past few years. It makes me excited to think about all the things that I can, and might, do. To be aware of the ways in which I am evolving. How I may pack up one part of my life and start something new. Or how I may stay put, and build.
What a treat it was to meet these women and be a part of Michelle's life as she undergoes this transformation, this change of direction.