The Secret of my Success

" So, Mi-chelle! What are you up to? "
"Oh, okay. Um, I invented Post-Its. "

I've had a couple reasons recently to look at my life and what I've done. Mid-life crisis? I don't think so. Don't those happen in your 50's? Well, then your life would be 100 years. We normally live to around 85, so mid-life would be 42 or 43.....crap. Ok, maybe it is mid-life and it does feel a bit like a crisis. Here's the deal.

First, I had to write a resume. Blech! I haven't had to do that for a really long time, and for good reason. I wrote it, thanks to the internet and 'Resumes for Dummies'. It was PATHETIC. Other than a few part-time jobs that lasted a year or so and my interpreting-which was a hundred years ago- there was nothing. I've been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years. That doesn't look great on paper. Luckily, I don't think my resume will really affect my chances with the publisher. It was a bit disheartening, though.

Second, I'm going to a class reunion this weekend. How many years? -sigh- 25. Thing is, I haven't seen any of these people for over 20 years. Once we left Idaho, I literally never went back. I'm pretty sure that most of my classmates, if they don't still live there, have family there and visit often. So, they've seen each other over the years. They've watched each other gain weight, go bald, succeed and fail in their professional lives. I have contact with a total of 3 of my friends from this school. All three of them are very successful. I don't expect anyone to be rude or anything (thank goodness we all grow out of those high school attitudes!), it just makes me nervous. Hi, remember me? Yeah, I have 7 kids and a mortgage. Too bad we can't tell people what we do in a way that would impress them.

Professional Experience:

Chef': Prepare delicious meals daily for large groups of very hungry/picky people.

Housekeeping Supervisor: manage cleaning staff, dealing with inexperience and bad attitudes.

Nurse: cared for sick and injured children, including flu, fevers, colds, infections, sprains, bruises, bleeding, all without any formal training.

Accountant: kept family on a budget, managing finances so that no one starved or went naked.

Negotiator: resolved conflicts on a daily basis between hostile parties (ie. teenagers)

You get the idea. We all know we do more than people who've never done it realize. I get tired of Oprah saying how much she respects moms. She thinks she knows how hard we work. As she sits there in her designer dress and $500 shoes. I'm sitting here in my Payless shoes and Wal-Mart sweats throwing cold cereal at the TV. We get a lot of rewards, it's just sometimes, you look around and realize in the world's eyes, you haven't done much.

This has caused a lot of reflection and funny as it may sound, Michael Jackson helped me come to a conclusion. See, here's a man who had more worldly success than anyone else. Known by millions, more money than you could count, talent-wow-what talent. Yet, now he's dead and all the earthly accolades he received are just that, earthly. He didn't get to take any of it with him. His funeral was over the top. Yet, I'm sure there would be more rejoicing in heaven over a mother who gave her life to her family than someone who spent their time here chasing fame and fortune. In the end, our success will depend on the things we do that have eternal consequences. My kids may bicker and my house may get messy, but if I can send them on missions and see them married in the temple, I know I've done what I was sent to do.

I think that's a bit too much to say at the reunion, tho'. Maybe I'll just tell them I invented Post-its.