Every year when the Jewish New Year begins it always feels a little like a new beginning. I’m not sure if it’s a spiritual thing or if it’s just that the fall weather reminds me of new school years, but it seems like there’s always something new to reflect on.

This year there are a number of things. Within the past year, we have done a fairly significant construction project on our house, I’ve started a new job, and Cheryl has finished graduate school. And, we are expecting a new baby.

But, I feel like this year represents a change in a direction of sorts despite those accomplishments. I have a house I like, a car I like, and am a bona fide parent. Cheryl and I both have our master’s degrees, and I’ve reached a certain level of confidence of in my career. There is still a lot of work to do, but this is not going to be the year of the house. There is still a lot of parenting to do, and this will largely be the year of baby #2, but I’ve been a parent and will continue to be a parent so that’s not entirely new. Certainly I need to continue to work to pay the bills, but that’s not news.

Basically I’ve done everything I need to do to see myself as a real, grown-up adult, and now the question is how, as an adult, I’m going to leave my mark on the world (other than the obvious answer of through my children). As an IT executive, or as an engineer? As a local activist, or through accomplishments of Jewish learning? By starting a second a career as an architect or real estate mogul, or through new opportunities in the software field? I’m giving myself until I turn 40 to find myself on the right path which gives me a few years to figure things out. The one thing I know for certain is that the answer is probably none of the above, and the new year will be full of surprises.