My Train

The summer after my junior year of college, I eagerly began an internship with a Phoenix-area advertising and public relations agency. I loved it, and luckily, they loved me. I was offered a job when I graduated from college and worked at E.B. Lane for four years.

I say worked in the past tense, because as of 1 1/2 weeks ago, I am officially a stay at home mom!

When I was in college, I dreamed of using my major to change the world. I imagined waking up each day with a joyous spring in my step at the thought of going to work. I looked forward to the privilege of getting to go home each night and leave work behind me - no homework (yeah right!)!

Then I woke up from my dream and real life began. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from President Hinckley:

"Anyone who imagines bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise...

"Life is like an old-time rail journey -- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

My thoughts of changing the world quickly changed into thoughts of how to help a retail behemoth sell more widgets (sidetracks), how to respond to a reporter who accused my client of having two loving parents arrested for taking bath time photos of their children (smoke, dust and cinders), and how to stay one step ahead of an overzealous client who wanted to know what reporters I had talked to that day when I'd spent 4 1/2 hours (of the five hours I'd been at work) in meetings, or commuting to and from meetings, with her and the other 1/2 hour eating lunch while catching up on email (delays).

I soon realized that even enjoying your job does not mean that you would rather be there than at home, spending time with friends and family or on a beautiful vacation. But one day I looked out the window of my metaphoric train to realize I had climbed a great mountain without even knowing it - I had learned to work hard, to live up to my responsibilities, to give recommendations - but ultimately follow through on someone else's decision, and to fake it until I knew what I was doing.

And, in an unexpected way, I got to help change the world. I doubt I will ever have the means many of my clients did. I was able to help with donations to countless organizations that totaled millions of dollars. I spoke with doctors who would not be able to do specific procedures and patients who would not be alive were it not for money I helped my clients raise. I worked with teachers, homeless shelters, programs designed to help underprivileged teenagers attend college, after school programs, mobile asthma clinics, Alzheimer's awareness groups, food banks, the Special Olympics, a police K9 unit, and the list goes on and on and on! I learned so much, from so many people and was able to see firsthand how many good people are working hard to lift each others burdens and make life better for their neighbor - those were my beautiful vistas.

My thrilling bursts of speed came in the form of hot laps with a retired professional race car driver, tickets to an NBA All Star Game, floor seats at a Suns game, going with professional sports players to visit the pediatric unit at a local hospital, and I'm sure there are more, I just can't remember them all right now.

It was a great ride, and I am grateful for four years of working with an organization that taught me so much. The time has come to board a new train - one that includes diapers and giggles and wiping tears. One small box of luggage made the journey with me. It includes photos, inside jokes and special mementos from my first job out of college train. Four years boiled down to one small box, countless memories and innumerable growth opportunities.