Once Upon A Time...

There was a little girl who thought she could change the world.

When she was five years old, she told people that she was going to be President.  The grown ups would laugh and say "How cute,"' but she was serious.  She wanted to be the first female president and she saw nothing "cute" about it.

But as she grew older, she found that being the person out in front was not where she felt comfortable.  She realized that maybe her roll in the change she sought, maybe it was on the other side, in the background.  She couldn't give the speeches, but she could help mold the message and plan the strategy.  She loved interpreting polls and creating field plans.  Maybe she was meant to change the world by working to get the right people elected.

So she found her niche and she found work that she loved.  Along the way, she had incredible experiences and met amazing people. She didn't always work on winning campaigns, but she always believed in what she was doing.  One day, because of her work, she met a boy - a smart, handsome, talented boy who saw her passion as an attractive trait, rather than a cute diversion that would pass.

The boy would put up with a lot, knowing that the girl found so much fulfillment and joy in her work.  Even after he got down on one knee and gave her a beautiful ring, even after he stood at the altar and watched her walk down the aisle in a white dress, he gave her the space to chase her dreams.

So she kept going.  But at a point, things turned on the girl.  At the end of her last campaign, she was decimated - and she had to decided if it was wise to keep going.  On the one hand, it was what she knew and it was what she loved.  On the other hand, she had no confidence in her abilities anymore and she harbored a lot of anger and bitterness.

And then there was the boy- his patience had run thin.  It was one thing when the work brought her joy.  He could stand the separation and the distance when he knew she was happy.  But now she wasn't and he wanted to build a home and to do that, he needed the girl.

So the girl went home.  At first, it was hard.  She found work, but it felt like it didn't mean anything.  She tried to move pass the bad feelings, but they remained.  She wondered if changing the world was really for her.

But then, something happened.  Two amazing somethings happened.  The boy and the girl had two little boys of their own.  And the girl started to look at the world differently.  She realized that she was changing the world by bringing these two little people into it.  And she began to see value in the work she did, both at her job and things she did in her community.

The anger and bitterness disapated and she could look back fondly on her past and remember the people and experiences with happiness.  That passion she had was still there - but now she was a spectator to the process.  And she was okay with that.