It is Well

All morning, as I was getting ready for Church, I was thinking about and humming the hymn "It is Well" quietly in the bathroom .. there was a chance that there was going to be a Hymn sing at service today and I was thinking of some of my favorites.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well

With my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

We got to Church a minute or two after 10 and they had already started announcements. Those first few minutes after our arrival are always a bit hectic - we're settling into our pews,(at least one of my kids sits behind me with our friend Linda), I'm writing my pledge check, filling out my prayer request form, finding collection money for the girls ... it is a process. 

The last week was a bit discombobulated - the girls had 2 days off, I had 2 days off, Paul was on vacation all week, we were anticipating the surgery of a dear family member, Paul had a couple of doctor appointments and this coming week has something scheduled every night. I've been feeling anxiety and uneasiness with that all swirling in my head.

Times when I'm feeling like that are when I appreciate my time at Church the most. The physical building - with the big, old colonial windows and the simple but majestic mahogany cross above the alter brings me peace. Now that the girls are older and off to Sunday School, I really get to be present during the rest of my time in the sanctuary. 

It came to the time in our service when someone from the Congregation reads the scripture lesson. Today, it was from Matthew 17 and while I was fumbling to find the page in my pew bible I heard the liturgist say "it well that we are here" ... my head snapped up and I thought "did I hear that right?' ... I quickly re-read the passage on the pages in front of me ... "Lord, it is good for us to be here" .. now the reader was using the big bible that never leaves the alter and often differs from the pew bible so I chalked it up to that but visibly smiled when I thought  "it is well that we are here"

What's funny is that when I started to write this post I spent 10 -15 minutes looking for the translation that uses that verbiage - "it is well that we are here" .. I cannot find it...most of them say "it is good that we are here", so now I wonder if that is what he said at all. Did I hear what I wanted to hear? I don't know and, frankly, it doesn't matter. I heard the message that was intended for me....

It is well

With my soul

You Better Watch Out

If you've spent any time around me the last year or so, you already know that I'm very active and involved in Norwich Public Schools.  I did some consulting there for a few months in between jobs. My mom was a teacher. I thought about being a teacher when I was in college, that was until I substituted in first grade for the 3 days before Christmas break. No thanks, I'll go right back to the Computer Science Department, where I belong!

Since May 2016, I've attended every public Board of Education meeting .. more meetings than one of the actual board members. I've attended several of the city sponsored School Facilities Review Committee meetings. I've addressed both boards/committees during their public comment sections. 

When I go to the BOE meetings, I sit in the front row ... usually alone. I have my notebook and pen and follow along with the agenda with painstaking care. I'm trying very hard to be informed, aware, and in the know. I want very much to have my facts straight so that when I do speak I have some degree of credibility. 

I have no formal training in education. My bachelor degree is in Computer and Information Sciences with a minor in Business Economics. I have a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems. I spent almost 20 years in the corporate world before making the jump to Higher Education. I'm fortunate to work at a college that has a Human Development program. I'm even more fortunate to have strong relationships with some of the esteemed faculty in that department. They are the people who point me to resources when I need facts, who honestly and patiently listen to my ideas and weigh in, they remind not to focus on one side of the argument. I am fortunate to have have these trusted advisors. 

When I went to that first BOE meeting in May 2016 and took a seat at the table during public comment, I never in a million years would have thought it was setting me on the course that I find myself on now. Speaking at meetings, introducing myself to random parents at informational sessions, handing out my business cards and getting random texts asking me to speak at other meetings. 

Earlier today, I told a really dear friend that she had created a monster. This advocate that I have become was all born out of some really insightful discussion in our comfy clothes over a cup of coffee at my kitchen peninsula. 

Last week, I attended an informational session about our Norwich Public Schools. I was encouraged to see a fair amount of people in attendance. I was excited that other people, besides me, wanted a turn at the microphone. One mother said ... "the people who can advocate for our kids, they are the ones that are moving their kids to other schools. Pretty soon, there won't be any one left to advocate for the people who can't do it for themselves"

At that moment I whispered out loud "she gets it"  .... we aren't all public speakers, we don't all speak fluent English, we can't all attend meetings at 5:30pm on Tuesdays, we aren't all moved to run for an office. 

Some of us might be ... Some of us might just be "someone to watch"

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

We've been friends for years with the Dugas Family, since before they were actually a family! Kim, Mike and I all worked for the same company and then Paul joined the crew when we started dating. You worry when you starting dating someone if he'll fit in with your "people". Thankfully, mine was a perfect match. 

The four of us have been through so much ... went to each other's weddings, welcomed our babies, said good-bye to parents, lost jobs, moved into new houses, new jobs and lots of Sunday night bowling. For a long time, too long, Kim and I have been talking about taking a joint trip. We have all these great ideas, we make really abstract plans and well .. we never actually go anywhere. It isn't that we don't want to .. we just get busy!

Last summer, our family was stunned by the sudden loss of someone so very special to us. She was 17 and a literal ray of sunshine. She brought warmth and pure joy into our home when she was here. Not having her physical presence in our lives anymore, having her taken from us so unexpectedly .. it left me wondering if I told her everything I should have told her. Did she know that I loved her smile? Did she know that every time I passed a Jeep in our neighborhood, I looked for her? That I loved when she asked us to give her a ride home from work? 

We started back to bowling in late August and Kim and started talking about all the fun stuff we'd been doing. I told her that Paul and I were done "talking" and we pledged to start "doing" and that we needed to plan a trip, just a weekend even, but we needed to do it. 

Before long, we had a place, a weekend and reservations. Last Friday, we loaded up the Pathfinder and headed for Portsmouth, NH. The Dugas Family bringing up the rear.  We had adjoining rooms in a hotel with a heated pool. We stayed up late and ate too much junk food, we explored a science center, downtown and skated on an outdoor rink. We had hot chocolate, margaritas, hard cider and children's wine. We played Left-right-center in the hotel lobby by the fireplace. We had an AMAZING time!

There were moments last weekend that I was moved to tears, my heart was so full of gratitude. We are so lucky to have this relationship with this family. I was sorry that we had waited so long.