And So It Goes...

Television journalist Linda Ellerbee had a sign-off line that I always loved.

“And so it goes,” she would say after running through the news on NBC.

For me, it meant that there are events in our life, totally uncontrollable, sometime totally devastating, but always totally meaningful.

The last several months have been simply life transforming. I left my job, dealt with depression, handled my mother’s stroke…and ultimately was there in the final moments of my father’s life.

My response was to fight. I poured my excess emotion into a treadmill, doing hours of walking a day and controlling my nutrition. The physical regimen was therapy for me. I needed to start feeling good about myself. It worked…and I lost 30 pounds along the way.

I spent hours trying to decide where I needed to land.

I applied for radio jobs, teaching jobs….and yes even a presidency or two.  But nobody seemed interested in me. Instead of feeding the depression, I walked more.

Then, I saw a posting for administrators within the St. Louis Community College. It made sense. It featured a need for leadership. I applied and was offered a job leading the college’s campus in West County. The campus was built in 2007 at Wildwood and in its decade of service, has not achieved the enrollment its creators had envisioned.

Ahh, a challenge. And when I met the Chancellor, he pointed west and invited me to lead. That’s all I needed. I’m on the job now and have found the people of Wildwood and on the campus to be most appealing.

While my professional life has appeared to find footing, my personal life during my unemployment was more of a challenge.

Mom endured her health problems and has made a full recovery. She landed in a new home….one that meets her needs.

Dad spiraled down fast and was not one to handle hospice care with an understanding spirit. He died in his home….a home that my sister and I are now selling after dealing with a maze of post-death legal and economic issues.

Everything has become clear.

I came to understand that God had provided me time to deal with these parental issues. They needed me and my career was put on hold so I could pay attention.

As for now...The next step is to get Carol to West County, find her a job, buy a house, and become part of the community. She was a rock during my trip through some dark days

I will work hard and I will find time to develop our acreage in Fairfield, where, we believe we will retire.

When?

I don’t know.

If I’m truly making a difference with my career, it may be quite some time.

For eight months nothing went right. Even the dog died.

But I now know God’s hand was at work. He had a plan….and I had to deal with the issues to prepare for the next chapter. I’m on page one….

And so it goes…