One of the headhunters I’m working with has an expression I like: “root system.” He uses this to describe the essential professional DNA of certain individuals. It’s the world that forms the way you look at the professional world. For me, obviously, this is consulting. Those BCG days – every year I realize more and more how essential, how formative they were to my adult life.
After this weekend at Kendall’s wedding I’ve been thinking about emotional root systems. Being with Char, Kendall, Newman, Dux brought me right back to Princeton and reminded me, again, of how these women (and other college friends who were not there) are really the root system of my emotional life. I am so grateful for the way these incredible women ground me and make it apparent that I am not alone. When I talk about my asperbergers-esque tendencies with Char, she nods vigorously and offers back her own odd habits and ticks. Ah – oh, so I’m not the only one. Standing in the lineup during the rehearsal, Dux, Newman, Charlotte, Leslie and I got laughing so hard my stomach hurt. With a single word or gesture we can reference old memories, and everybody instantly gets it.
It was a wonderful weekend, a much-needed immersion in lightness and laughter, and a reminder of the special women I’m blessed to have in my life.
