Processing Time: Looking Forward

As I look forward to this year, I have some vague goals and ambitions, but I know the road will twist and turn in unexpected ways, so I’m not hoping “in” the circumstances of the year, be they good or bad.

1. My main overarching goal for the year is to stay fully invested despite this being my last year. I don’t want to get “senioritis” and stop caring. It will be a tricky road to navigate – who do I invest in? Do I invest in a new person knowing that I will not be there next year to help them? Is it worth it to spend time with new people even though we won’t know each other for very long? Yes, it may hurt when I leave, but the relationships now are worth it.

I’ve started out this year by hosting Allison Stroud, a new member of the music department. Having the car for this year, I’ve already been able to help her out. One of the big successes was getting her cell phone set up. I’m foreseeing a trip to IKEA in the near future. God will put staff, students, and neighbors into my life this year, and I will be ready to help them out in big and small ways.

2. My second goal is to celebrate. It could be a year of mourning, of recognizing “lasts,” but I want instead to celebrate a year of “firsts.” Here are some of the “firsts” so far:

• Seeing official Black Forest Clocks at a museum in Furtwangen
• Having a pet cat (Suzanne’s cat Dwini)
• Owning a car (Watson family’s green Ford Mondeo)
• Operating a carpet cleaner (last Wednesday)
• Operating a riding lawn mower (today)

Clock trip:

Edwina “Dwini” Micheals:

Carpet cleaning:

John Deere Mower:

Just a word of explanation: This week, the new staff members were learning German while others of us were helping clean up campus and do work around the dorms (hence the carpet cleaning and lawn mowing). Next week we will all be working in our various work spaces to prep for the year; the week after that is All-Staff Conference, and the week after that school starts!