I’m back!
It’s been over three months since my last post. It was early December. I was getting into a groove. I had four or five good ideas for articles. Things were great. Things were fine.
Then it happened.
I’d taken a Thursday off as Christmas approached. Stephanie and I were getting ready to go Christmas shopping. I stopped by the office to pick up something I’d forgotten . . . AND FOUND THE RESIGNATION LETTER OF MY SECRETARY.
Needless to say, it was a shock. We'd talked about job duties and work flow only a few days before that, and she hadn’t said anything about quitting. She’d had health issues, but seemed to be dealing with them. Little did I know . . .
It’s amazing how unexpected events can really put you off your game. My focus immediately changed—find temporary office help, make sure the bookkeeping is covered (one of the secretary’s duties), dust off the job description and make the necessary adjustments, figure out how to advertise, ready resumes, conduct interviews, make a hiring decision—it took a lot of energy and attention. Although we'd hired someone by mid-January, the new secretary needed a lot of handholding in order to get her feet on the ground. I’ve had help in accomplishing all this, but much of it still fell to me.
It reminded me of a whitewater rafting trip I went on, some thirty years ago. The instructor told us that, if we capsize and end up in the water, just roll over on your back and float downstream, feet first, until you find a place to get out of the water. Well, wouldn’t you know, we capsized. I remembered my instructions, rolled over on my back, and then tried to raise my legs. BAM—a rock hit my shins, pitching me forward. So I tried again—BAM, another rock. This happened four or five times. Despite my best efforts, I never was able to get on my back with my feet out in front of me.
Life’s been like that for me over the last several months—one rock after another. But I’m looking forward to smoother sailing from here on in. And I’m looking forward to regular postings on my blog. There's so much to comment on--life, family, politics, faith--I shouldn't have any trouble filling this page.
I’m back—and hope I never go away again.
