Administrative Assistant No More

I can't believe another month has passed by since I've written. So sorry.

Yesterday was my last day at the counseling center. Someone asked if I was sad about leaving and I simply said, no. This job taught me a lot about what it means to serve others, to think about others' needs and thought patterns over my own and that was very valuable. This job was not one that I could do well naturally or truly enjoy though. I am most thankful for the experience of assisting the directors and learning from their good and bad points. I worked for 4 very different people with different styles and I was able to pick up a lot by working with them. I thought about keeping a journal of the things I observed and I never did it. I regret that now, especially since two weeks from today we will be in Colorado as the directors of Eagle's Nest Day Camp. *I hate it when I have good ideas and then laziness keeps me from following up - I've gotta work on that.
I really hope that Jason and I are good leaders for our staff and our kids. I want our camp to be a well run machine, but one that is open to last minute ideas and changes in plans due to incliment weather and such. I want to be a leader that notices the little things everyone does to keep the big picture running smoothly. I want to motivate people to give their best, not just for me or for the kids, but to be true to themselves and their potential.

Everyone has to be given a job when they're young that they're not quite qualified for, but know they can do with a little luck, lots of hard work and endless prayers. This is that job for Jason and I. It's that first "break," that "five years of experience," type resume builder that will finally give us some credibility in the adult world. It's kind of tough trying to take on adult things when the adults look at you and still see a college kid (more likely a high school kid in my case...I'll appreciate it when I'm 40). I'm intimidated by our job this summer, but I'm really excited and I'm so glad there's only two more weeks ahead of us before we're out there and diving in head first, praying we get everything planned and in order before the staff arrives for training on May 26th! And then there's the packing, and that I am dreading.
This time of life is hard in that respect. This will be our third move in our year and 3 months of marriage. The worst part is that I know there will be at least two more in the near future. One when we come back to St. Louis in the fall, and then another if/when we don't want to live in my parent's basement anymore. Have I mentioned we're going to live in my parent's basement? Free rent during seminary=no school loans, so we have to at least give it a shot. We like my family a lot, so we hope it will work out. This is one of those things I swore I would never do and look at me now. Why do I even tell myself the things I'll never do? I always end up doing them. It's like the cosmos has to prove me wrong on any solid yes's and no's I come up with. Oh well.

It is a gorgeous day and everything is in bloom. The dogwoods all boast flowers of pink, purple, yellow and white. The trees have tender new leaves with the lime green color of spring. Each time I go to my car there's a thick layer of yellow pollen on my windshield. It was the kind of morning where you wake up and know you just have to get outside, so Jason and I spent the morning at Kaldi's coffee shop and the surrounding up and coming DeMun neighborhood. We ate a yummy breakfast of eggs over toast with tomatoe and melted cheese, and the best chai in town and then it was off to walking through the beautiful neighborhood Kaldi's lies in. It has been amazing living in St. Louis again these past 7 months. This city is experiencing a re-birth I never would have known was possible when I lived here as a child. The city is tearing down the old condemned buildings and replacing them with neighborhoods, playgrounds and parks. This is the first time I can recollect seeing new buildings, condos, shops, restaurants and lofts springing up everywhere downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I think our generation yearns for the urban lifestyle where a coffee shop a grocery store and a city park are only blocks away, and in St. Louis it's happening. It's really exciting and it's been fun to talk about where we'd want to buy our first house or condo should we end up in St. Louis for real. I never thought that I'd want to live in St. Louis again, but we love our church so, so much and the city is coming to life in ways I'd always hoped it would. I guess we'll see. I guarantee in three weeks I'll be writing about Colorado Springs being my dream place to live and how I never want to leave again. But for today, St. Louis is beatiful in the spring and I'm content to be right where I am.