Take a Chance on Me...

Confirmation that I am not nuts comes in the most unexpected ways. I have recently been obsessing about whether or not I should invest all this time in a new career. It would be so much more realistic to pick up my marketing contacts and dive back into an ocean I know how to navigate. Plus, people like the Chevy Chase character in “Community 101” make me wonder if I am dealing with a full deck.

One of the first signs I received that my sanity may be intact was a woman I met when I first moved to Ithaca. She was a cardiologist and a mother. A few years ago she decided to put her stethoscope on the shelf and pull out some paintbrushes. She is applying for her MFA. I have another doctor friend (in La Jolla, mother of three under 6) who also walked away from all the years invested in med school and residency programs and is now a wine maker (second home and business in Napa area) with her husband. (You can follow them at http://www.bruliamwines.com/ and I highly recommend their really amazing wine!)

Even with inspiring role models, I still second-guess myself. Will I be taken seriously? Do I need another degree? Maybe I should stick to tried and true. The negative thoughts get darker and louder when you are pulling yourself away from your children, husband and other parts of your life that are important, too. What the hell am I doing? Why do I think I can write a novel? Who wants to read my crap anyway?

But then, as if my guardian angel got wind of my hesitation and decided to send in a closer, I just met someone remarkable. Her husband was amazing himself, a 78-year-old named-chair Professor who teaches the most popular class in his department at an Ivy League university (he started teaching at age 53). She spent the first half of her career as a psychotherapist and then, when her kids were teenagers, she went to law school and became a successful trial lawyer. All of this at top schools and law firms in Boston. We are talking big time investments of time, money and energy.

So, I have my proof. Yes, it can be done, at any level and at any time. I don’t need an analyst to confirm my diagnosis. I slept like a baby last night, knowing I have all my marbles, and now it's time to go shoot a few.