Happy Father's Day!

It's complicated. I suppose that it's natural to only remember the good times with the passing of time. That's what I do. Time has diminished the difficulties that I had with my father. Now I can say that I didn't know what it was like to be in his shoes and with that I accept him for who he was. I am reminded that a person can learn a lot by just observing. I was tough with my kids but I didn't lay a hand on them (ok so an occasional smack on the butt) or say derogatory things to them. Those two things never felt good to me and I learned that it probably wasn't a good thing to do to them. Having said that, I was not perfect and although I was tested many times I did the best I could. I love him and I miss him and I wish that my children could have known him. I'm sure they would have thought that he was the bomb! :) Today I wish all fathers out there a happy day! Time does help to heal all wounds.

Thought for the day: I don't have a good quote today. What I know for sure was that my father was mellowing out when he passed away. I wish that I could have had more time with him.

Has it been a week already?

I have the best intentions. I hope to post more often than I have this week. I took Monday off and got a few things done and went to the pool. Tuesday I started right in to my job. I think it's going to be a little while before everyone is totally comfortable but I think it will be great! Interesting story though from the week. Last week an co-worker came up to me and said "Why did you leave the U of I?" I answered with 'Why? Are you surprised that I left?' He said yes, I saw how much you made and can't believe that you walked away from that. (all salary information is public record and can be found online). I looked at him at said, sometimes, it's not about the money. It's about quality of life and I'm at the point in my life where I want to enjoy my family and friends more than I've been able to. He hesitated for a moment and agreed telling me a story of options he had when he could have left his job for another that paid a little more. Yes, flexibility and quality of life are important. Looking forward to next week and all that it brings.

Thought for today: Don't look back- you're not going that way.

Complete

It's been a long week. Not necessarily a hard week though. It's hard when you leave one job for another. I had to let folks know that I was leaving. I'm glad that someone sent an internal email letting folks know I was leaving. We had a nice gathering on Thursday evening and I got a gift. I really had intended to get out early on Friday but that didn't happen. Just too many loose ends to clean up. A very nice thing happened on my way home from work yesterday. One of my donors called with concerns that I was leaving and what would happen to him. He and his wife are lovely people. Anyway, after a 10 minute conversation I encouraged him to think of moving a level by giving athletics $15K a year. He agreed. That was a nice way to go out. I will miss that part of my job. I know that I'll miss fundraising also. I have a few ideas on how I can still participate with fundraising. First though...I'm going to relax this summer. I feel very good. Very relieved and a little tired. I'm looking forward to a wonderful summer. :)

Quote: You become like the 5 people you spend most of your time with.