OK, i'm playing hookey from work today since the weather is bad and I've got lots of stuff to do here at home. But, as its MY name on the door of the firm, I can do these things!
Maybe its the weather making us stay home, maybe its the post-holiday quiet. Lately, however, i've been feeling very reflective and my thoughts frequently go to where my life has gone and, by extension, to many of my friends on this Fourm and their lives.
How many of us truly envisioned the lives we have now? I know I never did. I grew up in a normal, working-class family. We were expected to do well and be successful. I worked hard in high school and was able to pay my way through Notre Dame thanks to scholarships and a 40-hour a week night job.
I quickly got myself onto the fast track. I moved in all the right circles and got some very cool jobs because of it. I followed my grandfather into politics and did well. Before i was 30, i was labelled as a "rising star" and my name was being tossed around for some very interesting offices. I met presidents, governors, and senators.
But, as the priest who was my undergrad mentor once told me "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." Then, in 2000, things started to change. In a matter of four months, death took my favorite student (at 15), my political mentor, and my favorite aunt. Suddenly, the glamour and the power seemed empty. Then, one day, I was sitting in my dentist's office leafing through a magazine and I came across an article about older boys in the child wlefare system who languished because no one wanted them because of their age. That article led me to the research process which led to my becoming a foster and adoptive parent.
Now, here I am just over six years later. I can say that this life was NEVER on my radar screen. I was supposed to be attending cocktail parties, party conventions, and town meetings. Instead, i attend therapy sessions, court dates, and parent conferences. My plan was to hob-nob with the power brokers and the special interests, not comfort wounded teenagers and listen to stories that I thought only happened on "Law & Order" without flinching. I'd never heard of ODD, PTSD, RAD, or any of these 'alphabet soup' diagnoses that we all know by heart. Heck, i'd never even met a social worker!
Yet, oddly enough, I have found "my purpose" in this life. My cousin is a nun and she told me once when I asked her about her life that she felt "a calling" when she was in high school. I guess that's true for me, too. "My boys" have become my calling. They may be with us a few days, a few weeks, or several months. Just as I hope they take something with them when they leave here, I think i take something from every one of them.
Last Spring, i stunned the establishment by announcing my retirement from politics at the completion of my term and going into the private sector. The announcement got some major attention and I was bombarded with calls asking "Are you nuts?" and "Are you ill or something?" I just explained to them that my life needed to move in a new direction. Now, I can honestly say that I have found real happiness and peace in doing what i do now. Like the old Army commericals said "It's the toughest job you'll ever love."
While I'm being so nauseatingly reflective, i just wanted to thank all of you here for all the support you've given me over these years. i give you guys a lot of the credit for giving me the courage to do something off the beaten path. You are an awesome group and every kid who enters your lives is very lucky.
OK, back to moving that dead hooker now...