A Mulligan?

OK, not really. This isn't a do-over. It's more of a re-start. My original intent with this was to document my journey to grad school; apparently that wasn't a compelling enough topic to keep even me interested, let alone my vast legion of followers (heh).

Therefore, I'm starting again, only this time my theme will be considerably broader. Not just grad school, but life as a middle-aged dad who is making a late career change.

So where do we start?

How about with a quick catch up? Here's where things stand:

• Byron is 22, living in San Francisco, and has become a responsible adult working his way towards his career of choice. He's doing great, and I'm intensely proud of him.
• Flannery is 16, in her junior year in high school, and preparing herself for college applications. She's a stellar student -- smart and disciplined, a killer combination -- and has focused a steely eye on her goal: Wesleyan University, in Connecticut. She's become quite popular with the boys, is funny and self-assured and caring and... can you tell that I'm hugely proud of her, too?
• Barb is... well, she probably would prefer I not give away her age. We've been together almost six years, and I love her deeply. She's been a self-employed consultant for a couple of years now, and is doing very well. We're looking forward to Flannery's graduation... that's when we sell my house and finally move in together.
• The cats -- Bianco and Marrone -- think they run the house. To a large extent, they do, of course, but I resist giving in.
• And me? I've finally begun the Marriage and Family Therapy Masters program in the Ed Psych school at CSUN. I'm having a blast, and my only regret is that I can't quit work and devote all my time to school.

My plan is that this will be the last "about me" post. Instead, I'm going to try to share thoughts, things I've learned, observations, etc. So stay tuned.