About the Title

In January 1997, I joined up with then Secretary of State George Ryan who was contemplating a run for Governor. Our office was "Program Staff," the liaisons between the front office/senior staff and the rank and file divisions of the largest SoS operations in the nation.

It was our job to make sure GHR's agenda was implemented in the divisions, come up with new ideas to make life better at the SoS and around the state, and to trouble-shoot in the real office. We were also the go-to folks for policy development for the Gov campaign (I can say this publicly now that the feds know all I know, the trials are all over, and those at the top are starting to get out of prison instead of more heading in).

It was there that I met and worked with a small but extremely dedicated group of people - a team unlike I will ever encounter again. We. Worked. HARD. We essentially lived together. We ate every meal together. We laughed, cried, and all that together.

And because we loved each other so much, we did not mind. We have tons of stories and endless fond memories that still bring a smile to my face....

It was at that time that Green Day's Good Riddance was so popular. And we adopted it as our program staff song. We thought we could never have predicted ending up together or that such an odd mix of people could click so well. And then trouble started near the end of the campaign. Allegations spiraled about bribes/dirty campaign dollars, etc. It got ugly. We did not believe any of it. But we won.

Over the next few months and then the next few years, the song continued to resonate with me. "Life grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.....Just make the best of this test and don't ask why. It's not a question but a lesson learned in time." At various points in the last 10 years (wow- that long?!) I have reflected on these notions as my life has taken turns, mainly when life grabs me by my wrist and sends me in a new direction. I hope I have made the best of those turns.

Having Jackson was completely unpredictable. Not that I never imagined being a mom, because I did. If there was one thing in my life that I knew I could do and do well was to be a mom. But I never imagined, growing up in a conservative family and having gone through 15 years of Catholic education, that I would be a single mom.

But I do love being a mom, especially Jackson's mom. It is a challenge, but I am good at it, I think. Only time will truly tell.