Pilot - Am I actually going to stick with this?

Every year for the last 10 years I tell myself I’m going to start a journal and every year for the last 10 years I have failed to journal past New Year’s Day. So I’m going to try something different this year. I want to create a space where family and friends can read about our daily adventures as a family, but more importantly, I want to create something that our children can read for years to come.

A little about me…I work for Diageo, one of the world’s largest beverage alcohol companies. I basically started my career there out of college and this marks my 13th year with the company. I’ve had various roles in various locations around the country but have really settled into my current role as Commercial Director. It’s essentially the perfect role for someone like me who knows a little bit about a lot of different areas of the company.

A lot of people knock “corporate life”, calling it the “grind”, “soul-crushing”, among other things. But I don’t feel that way. Yes, I like the brands my company represents, but mostly I’ll be forever grateful for Diageo allowing me to both find purpose in my work (your resident problem-solver), purpose as a mother (more on that in a sec), and to afford me the comfortable life most people dream about having.

The whole reason I have the time to build this blog and create entries is because I’m currently on month 6 of 8 of my fully paid maternity leave. Yes, you read that right. Full pay, full benefits, full raise, full bonus. Unheard of, I know. Should be standard practice, I know. Truly though, having 8 months off after the birth of my son in 2022 and daughter in 2025 really helped me figure out the early (and hardest) months of motherhood, and allowed me to fine-tune my new identity before rushing back into the corporate world…making me not only a happier employee, but a more passionate one. I’m sitting here excited to come back (on May 4th) with big ideas and big energy in a suffering adult drinks environment.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my husband, Brennan, as the other, MOST important part of my life. I even mentioned in my wedding vows in 2020 that the reason he is my perfect match is because he lets me live my dreams. He pushes me to be the best I can be both at work and at home as the mother to our children. We challenge each other only to make each other stronger or smarter. We are equal partners in every sense of the word equal. He is the most important person in my life and will always come first. He also works for Diageo and gets 6 months of paid paternity leave. Most people balk at that, but we think about it as a benefit of working for the company - no different than stock, bonuses or vacation time. Fully paid time off for a man to bond with his growing family…can we normalize that?

Ok enough background for now. Let’s talk about what’s going on in the world! The last few weeks there have been major developments with AI. I truly believe this will be bigger than the industrial revolution in terms of what it does to the shape of the work force and what the future looks like for both my job as I know it today, and the work force my children will (maybe?) enter into in ~20 years. I think millennials are well-positioned to adjust their careers with AI but it will require us to be more educated on it and more accepting of it as a daily tool to make work more efficient. As Richard Baldwin said in 2023, “AI won't take your job, it's somebody using AI that will take your job”. In a world that is changing faster than ever before, I believe the best thing we can do for our children is teach them adaptability and how to tap into what makes us "human"...the rest will fall into place.

In the spirit of adaptability and with 2 months of maternity leave left…Brennan and I have been planning a month-long trip to Europe with the kids and we leave in ONE week! In future posts, I will share how and what I am packing, must-haves when traveling with kids, and keep you guys updated real-time as we are over there. Year of the Fire Horse...let's go!

(originally written 2/23/26)