A very smart person whom I greatly respect recently informed me that in his opinion, there is no such thing as stability. Nobody stays with the same company forever anymore. Downsizing, acquisitions, mergers, economy downturns, home office moves, big changes in senior management. On and on. And on the personal side, cancer, multiple sclerosis, ALS, car crashes, infidelity, suddenly discovering you are gay even though you've been married to a person of the opposite sex for 20 years and have four kids, mental illness and addiction, death of a child. On and on.

I don't know. I had a lot of stability in my career and personal life. Until I didn't. So, maybe my pal is right. Maybe stability is just an illusion we hang onto because it makes us feel better about what is otherwise a frightening and uncertain world. A coping mechanism. I don't know, but for me and my life, that might actual sound just about right.