Hi. Long time, no see. I've missed everyone.
Where to begin?...
I guess I can start with why I haven't been writing. The short answer is, I couldn't think of anything I wanted to share with everyone. At first I wanted to say, I couldn't think of anything to write about, but that isn't true. The fact of the matter is that there was so much stuff going on at work and in my head that I couldn't figure out what I wanted to share and what I didn't want to share. So, I just stayed quiet.
If you've read any of my blog you know I'm a secretary. And, if you've read any of my blog you know I tell everyone I get paid for blogging because I write my blog while I'm at work. Well, work has been CRAZY lately. The college I work at had a much smaller incoming freshman class than anticipated. In fact, the number was only 2/3s of the expected accepted students. The parents were not sending in the checks. The kids decided to go somewhere else. Our budget was screwed. We lost 5% of our expected revenue or $3.5 million.
What does this mean, you may ask. Well, the first thing it means is that jobs are on the line. The easiest way to find money in a budget is to lay people off.
At the time this came to a crisis, I was having my own identity crisis. I had been seriously contemplating quitting my job. Seriously. I'd even picked a date, June 28th, to be my last day. But with this whole budget cutting, possible layoffs, where the heck are we gonna find $3.5 million looming overhead, I decided to wait and see what happened. After all, one possibility being batted around was the offer of early retirements. Wouldn't I feel like a total fool if I quit my job 3 weeks before the college offered early retirements and I stipend of $1000 for every year worked. Yeah, I'd feel pretty stupid. So I waited.
While I was waiting things went crazier and crazier around here. First, my boss was promoted to a vice president position and the guy in the position he was promoted to, left the college (
no scandal here). Then, the president of the college quit. He said this crisis was all his fault (
he was correct) and asked that his contract not be renewed. Next, they fired the vice president for admissions (
no kidding). She absolutely needed to go, too. What a fiasco. One of my favorite quotes the president and vice president of admissions used was that the college was located in a fairly rural area... did we move the college? Didn't they notice all that farmland around them. Lame.
Also, the state capital budget submission is due the end of the fiscal year (
June). This is a large endeavor and does take a good bit of time and organization. On top of the submission, my boss left to go on a vacation on June 19th. So, the submission had to be completed early. Needless to say, June has been one busy month.
I know most of you won't care about the fate of one small college on the mid-Atlantic coast, but there you have it. My job is a big part of my life and it takes up a lot of what I think about every day. Sad to say, I could see this coming. I had talked with my boss about this NEW vision for the college a year ago. I'm not saying I'm psychic or anything, but we are not Harvard or Princeton down here. Who are we kidding?
At this same time a position on campus became available. Evidently this is a position the college decided to fill instead of cut. (
instead of layoffs and early retirement they have decided to leave vacant positions that are vacated at this time) It pays better and is a better job. I applied.
I feel like I have made a decision for my future employment and I'm feeling much more settled. Whether or not I get the job I applied for doesn't matter. I know what I want to do now and it feels great to leave the confusion and turmoil behind. Once I make a decision I can make a plan. When I have a plan, I can move ahead with confidence. And here I am writing and sharing this with you.
Another reason I'm glad to be back on the blog is that I discovered that my blog has an impact on the lives of some of my readers. Believe me, nobody was more surprised than me. I visited one of my blog friends, Smooth Stones, in May. She was
visiting Annapolis and I drove up to the Ellicott City, MD area and met her and her family. It was great. I need to write about this. She has a beautiful family and I was so proud that she was good with having me meet them. I cannot express how special it made me feel. Also, friends and family that read my blog have wondered what is going on with me and have asked me about it. Seriously, mostly NO ONE I KNOW says anything to me about what I write while I'm writing, but when I stop, they come out of the woodwork. And finally, I got an email from a reader and new follower. She shared with me the impact that my blog I wrote about
my 20-year prayer for my son had on her. She told me that God touched her heart through my blog. I know that God can use ANYTHING for his will and for good. I mean, he used a stick in Moses' hand to part the Red Sea. If God is using my blog for his good, I want to be available to be used by him.
Blogging isn't easy, but it's worth it. It feels good to be here again.
305. Air conditioning
306. Readers that write encouraging and uplifting emails
307. Blog friends
308. Choices for employment
309. Celebrating 59 years of marriage with my parents
310. Growing in my faith in God
311. Enjoying a feeling of peace in my soul
312. Wondering if any of my readers are still out there and if they will notice I'm writing again, but if they don't, I'm ok with that :)
