I'm an old fashion girl

This past week has been eventful. I passed my final test for the course I was taking earlier this year. While I was contemplating taking it a step further by completing an academic degree on that subject (thus possibly beginning a whole new career far from the business world), I got a call from an executive search firm asking if I will consider going back to the workforce and joining them. It was unexpected. It was totally tempting. They are a "bulge bracket" search firm and will offer me money and prestige. I had a few sleepless nights thinking about it, but I realize that my life has moved on. Yes, I still like the idea of being called upon and even more so when it's been at least three years since I last talked to them. I am flattered they still remember me. But it's no longer me. I am no longer thrilled by the executive lifestyle that I once thought glamorous. Now, I want the time to indulge in the other aspects of life and attempt things that I may not be good at but like doing. I want to have the time to do community and charity work and to volunteer at church. I want to be able to go for an evening run in the park when the sun is still shining. I want to be able to stay up late at night without feeling guilty. All my "wants" need time and that is some thing the confines of an executive job can't give. I realize that as much as I grew up in the modern world, at the ripe age of 33, I'm an old fashion girl who does not feel the trills of the opportunities of the corporate world.

Continuing on the thread of old-fashion-ess, I will have to say upfront that I'm not OK with some of the choices my dear friend, F, has chosen with regards to relationships recently. It is not urban or modern of me to feel this way. We now live in a free society and anyone can choose to do what pleases them. I love my dear friend, but that doesn't mean that I will be in agreement with everything she does. There are things that are right and wrong in my old fashion conscience, and the hard part for me is striking a balance between understanding the choice she has made (I understand) and condoning it. It is especially hard because I don't want to push her away because of my opinions either. I remember reading a story of a dad, who drove his son away because he didn't condone his son's gambling habits. The dad regretted driving away his son, but did not regret his stance against gambling. And, he wished that instead of being so harsh, he should have worked together with his son to get rid of the gambling habit. It's not the best analogy, but I realize that it is what I have to do. I have to thread carefully and hope that some how she will come around and hold fast to her those true and time tested age old traditions. After all, there is nothing wrong with being old fashioned. If these values have lasted this long, it can't be bad.