See if you can remember ... Playing with Jarts (the lethal version of lawn darts); Coca Cola in a bottle; being able to leave the house at 9am, pack a lunch, put it in the basket of your bike, not return home until dusk, AND you were 10 years old; having neighborhood games outside all day and all night (flashlight tag, kick the can, red rover, cops & robbers, kickball, and any version of chasing-running-screaming-attacking-and taunting); feeling "in style" wearing Jordache, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Hang Ten; the endless hours in front of the TV playing the computer game "Pong".

If any of these memories resonate with you, then you will appreciate the era in which we came from. We were kids in the 70's, teenagers in the 80's, and young adults in the 90's. Our generation was pre-"X". Half of us grew up with moms at home and half of us with moms that worked outside the home. We were in a stage of transition; the interesting period that defined a break-out from the traditional role of June Cleaver to "I am woman, hear me roar" or "I can do it ALL, just watch me."

I grew up with the philosophy that a great education and career was the equivalent to SUCCESS, so I have been the epitome of a working mom the majority of my adult life. The funny thing about life, is that is does come full circle, and here I am today, desiring that apron and the peace and serenity of being the heart of my family.

The Rat Race is this complex set of twists and turns, directionless, frantic, and contained. I know this, I have been engaged in it for nearly 16 years. When I took a few solid days to experience life outside of that "race", I became very aware of the reality I was living. When I started looking around me, I discovered that there was actually a way out; I just had not taken the time to make an honest assessment of my surroundings and how they were impacting me. The way out is not the same for everyone, it is actually something we each have to create. However, the strategy to find it is based on the same one thing: A DECISION TO ESCAPE.

Today, I am embarking on something new. I am on a journey HOME. I am hanging up my insurance business and engaging fully into my gratifying home based business that I have come to love. I am looking forward to turning back time and giving my family the gift they have been waiting a long time for. Mom's coming home.