Reduction and Focus

I am always busy, busy, busy. I keep a lot of juggling balls in the air, but this summer I get to focus on my grad school application and my family.

My job as RE Assistant at First Unitarian wraps up in a couple of weeks, and I have mixed feelings. I have loved just about every minute of it - oddly enough, my least favorite part is doing childcare, but that's not what most of my job was about. And it's not that I don't love the kids - I do. But I love classes, and watching the kids grow throughout the year and learn about UU stuff and test their values, and to see them fulfilling their potentials. Summer childcare is just boring.

I have loved sitting in the lobby each week getting to know old and new families. It is a simple kind of evangelism to teach about our RE program and what it means to me as an employee and as a parent. I even loved organizing the supply closet and my boss' office. And I love being an employee of a place that cares about me - about whether I have a living wage, about if the hours fit my lifestyle, that allows me to participate as a member and as an employee - to wear my different hats. It felt so good to be appreciated by the other volunteers, parents, and staff. To feel that I was doing a really good job, and making a difference to all of those people and the kids too.

I can't do this job next year - J. needs someone who can work more hours, and I need to focus on finishing school. But I'll miss it. It will be nice to go to the services. To teach in Jude's class. To socialize and have more time at home, and to ask less sacrifice of Tom. This job actually took money away from our coffers in time and energy - but it was worth it to me. It gave me a window into the back end work that goes into RE, and how it fits into the greater church workings and community. It gave me a chance to get out of the house and focus on how important my spiritual and practical work is, and it made Emma and Soren feel important and connected them to the greater church community and its teachings.

I'm so glad I had this year of work. I'll miss it, but I am excited about the future.