I saw a couple of ghosts from my past yesterday evening. It was nice, and I was really happy to see them. They reminded me of my early 20′s, and what it felt like to feel valuable in a job, as if what I did had a real and tangible impact on the broader community, and my effort was rewarded and recognized. It has been a long time since I felt rewarded and recognized, or even appreciated.
Then there were the questions. How have you been? What have you been up to? And I always pause before I give some generic answer suggesting that all is well, and that everything is perfect.
It was nice to see them. For an evening, I felt youthful as I smiled and laughed and maneuvered the crowd as I once had done so regularly so many years ago. But all I could think was What did I do for the last five years?
I’ve reviewed the past five years, I know, numerous times since September 2009, looking at the general upward trend in my standard of living, the stability I’ve developed, the things that I have, and the people I have around me. There were a lot of things that got done; things that happened. All positive things.
So why…
