We ventured into a new era of parenting tonight, after receiving a mildly concerning behavior report regarding my twin daughters. We used the feelings wheel and walked the fine line between you should not care what people think and also reputation affects future opportunity. There were tears and hugs and written apologies and a plan for a fresh start. During the long and emotional evening, we interrupted by a phone, a local kid wanting to apologize for something something unrelated but which also affected said twin daughters. I love parenting tweens in this town.
Teaching at my church tonight. It’s been a long, weird road but I wound up believing in the same gospel that brought me here.
My stint as college professor ends today. I am so proud of these students and also so in love with community college culture and also so exhausted.
I sat through a presentation today regarding my hospital’s master facility plan, a ten-year process by which we hope to expand services and upgrade facilities in a way that serves our community. I appreciate the care and effort taken by a locally-owned hospital that answers to tax-payers and elected officials who live and work right here. What struck me, though, was when my boss drew attention to our financial trends. We’ve been paying off debt for years without investing anything at all in our future.
Sometimes, you’ve gotta do both. I’m not just talking about money.
Two years ago, I put my name in the hat for a position at large on the medical executive committee at work, just so I could learn the ropes and meet the people. The voting ended up taking forever, and I mean forever. Where it was supposed to take ten minutes as part of the regular meeting, the vote went for two hours or so. Everyone sat there fumbling through recounts because things were split over a few names, one of which was mine. I didn’t win, but I was more embarrassed about sitting there during the delayed debacle then I was about not having a seat at a table I didn’t even know existed yet. A bunch of docs suggested rank choice voting for the next election, and it’s been groaned and laughed about at most meetings since.
Tonight was the annual medical staff meeting, with a nice dinner and also another experience with electing medical officers. This time, however, I didn’t run for anything. In my current role, I’m at a few tables already. I get the exposure and experience and influence I hoped for from the beginning. I know the doctors and have the community I longed for.
Instead, I voted along with the rest of them, with anticipation and confidence. And this time, we were truly done in ten minutes. I doubt anyone even remembered that I was the reason for their election-that-would-not-end two years ago.
Tonight my daughter ran a few eggs over to our neighbor, who had to shoo a moose off of the road to get her back safely.
I ran back and forth between our town’s rotary health fair and our town’s Nutcracker rehearsal all day, one held in the high school gym and the other in the theater. Then we came home and giggled a little and watched the Hornets almost beat the Nets.
