After 15 years in the hospitality industry, Career #1, mostly in Hawaii and finishing up at Auberge du Soleil in Napa, I  was ready for a change. Career #2 was as an entrepreneur.  I rehabbed a space on Fourth Street in the historic part of downtown Santa Rosa and opened The Pottery Studio in 1996--paint your own ceramics studio.  The idea was so new at the time that I frequently got people coming in and sitting down at a table expecting a waitress with a menu.  I had always wanted a creative space, so I included everything I ever dreamed of:  good lighting, great sound system, windows looking out on an active neighborhood.  I sold it in 2000, four years almost to the day that I had opened in 1996.  I miss it, but it was time.  It is still there, on its 3rd owner, and thriving.  Art is good therapy!

That brings me to Career #3.  I took a few months off and thought seriously about what I wanted to do.  I wanted something that would last in terms of interest, satisfaction and the potential to support myself comfortably.  I have been in Real Estate for 10 years now, all in the same office, and I really like it.  It is stressful often because I always get caught up in my clients search for and then purchase of that place that says "This is it!" when they walk in the door, but it is the single most satisfying thing I have done.   I believe that homes have a fated quality about them--they are so important.  The houses we live in not only have a financial impact on us, but they are the stage for our lives as long as we call them home.  They provide shelter, sanctuary, privacy, warmth, quiet times and fun times.  They are a place for everything from meditation to mad science in the garage.  We recharge our batteries and shore up our strength at home.  At home we are free to be just what we are; surrounded by the people and things we love.