Time after time
Ten years ago... I was beginning my first year as a Residence Hall Director and Counselor at Central College, having just left my last assignment at the University of Maryland. I'd already been connected to Central for almost a decade, and was their first full-time professional hall director (based on a consultation project I'd done with them in the previous year).
Seven years ago... I was beginning my first year as a Resident Director at Seattle University and preparing for classes at Mars Hill Graduate School (then Western Seminary Seattle). I moved to Seattle in order to enroll there, and after having fallen in love with the city on a job interview the year before. My best friend had also relocated to Seattle the year before.
Five years ago... I was beginning my year as Interim Director of Residence Life at Seattle University, a year I'd later coin the Year of Hell. It was a promotion I never should have accepted, one which took me farther from the things I loved about the profession, brought me closer to everything that bothered me, placed me in the middle of political power struggles and people who couldn't be trusted, and planted mistrust with those close to me. After that year, I chose to leave the profession entirely.
Three years ago... My church, where I'd also come to work the year before, was reeling from relationship/workplace scandal that resulted in the deposition of our founding pastor, and was also on the brink of a church split. I'd absorbed 1.5 other jobs into my own, including managing finances that were lean enough to have us bouncing checks and delaying payroll. Earlier that month, I went on a road trip vacation to North Carolina with taci, where I introduced her to expressedinword; we also met dawn11476, melissa52677, onesamtwo, andromanaurora. Some old gifts and old ghosts had recently come back into my life, and I was still adjusting to that.
Two years ago... Our pulpit committee was in full swing searching for a new pastor, having just passed on further consideration of our interim pastor for the permanent position. Though things were still in flux at the church, a lot of healing had already taken place, including a small church camping trip that was loads of fun. I was very tired of summer.
One year ago... Met jmcphers at church, then cow dropped by Grace On Tap at Conor Byrne that evening. John had been our pastor for just over six months, I'd moved to a new apartment in Wallingford a couple of months prior, and life was starting to feel more stable and less driven by crisis.
One day ago... I was at the tail end of a fourteen-hour work day, grabbing dinner with Nathan at Pagliacci Pizza and talking about plans for our Community Group reboot.
An hour ago... I was finishing dinner (a nice bowl of chili with cheddar and saltines) and starting this meme.
Seven years ago... I was beginning my first year as a Resident Director at Seattle University and preparing for classes at Mars Hill Graduate School (then Western Seminary Seattle). I moved to Seattle in order to enroll there, and after having fallen in love with the city on a job interview the year before. My best friend had also relocated to Seattle the year before.
Five years ago... I was beginning my year as Interim Director of Residence Life at Seattle University, a year I'd later coin the Year of Hell. It was a promotion I never should have accepted, one which took me farther from the things I loved about the profession, brought me closer to everything that bothered me, placed me in the middle of political power struggles and people who couldn't be trusted, and planted mistrust with those close to me. After that year, I chose to leave the profession entirely.
Three years ago... My church, where I'd also come to work the year before, was reeling from relationship/workplace scandal that resulted in the deposition of our founding pastor, and was also on the brink of a church split. I'd absorbed 1.5 other jobs into my own, including managing finances that were lean enough to have us bouncing checks and delaying payroll. Earlier that month, I went on a road trip vacation to North Carolina with taci, where I introduced her to expressedinword; we also met dawn11476, melissa52677, onesamtwo, andromanaurora. Some old gifts and old ghosts had recently come back into my life, and I was still adjusting to that.
Two years ago... Our pulpit committee was in full swing searching for a new pastor, having just passed on further consideration of our interim pastor for the permanent position. Though things were still in flux at the church, a lot of healing had already taken place, including a small church camping trip that was loads of fun. I was very tired of summer.
One year ago... Met jmcphers at church, then cow dropped by Grace On Tap at Conor Byrne that evening. John had been our pastor for just over six months, I'd moved to a new apartment in Wallingford a couple of months prior, and life was starting to feel more stable and less driven by crisis.
One day ago... I was at the tail end of a fourteen-hour work day, grabbing dinner with Nathan at Pagliacci Pizza and talking about plans for our Community Group reboot.
An hour ago... I was finishing dinner (a nice bowl of chili with cheddar and saltines) and starting this meme.