It Is Good

Today is the day I tell you about my new job! I know I said I'd tell you about it "next week" (which would have been last week), but I really didn't have much to tell before I'd even started...so, I'm happy to report today that I've received a very warm welcome. 

With a full five days under my belt, I have confirmed that this was totally the right move. Even though there was (and still is) a boatload of new knowledge to absorb and assimilate, I've been given a sense of autonomy already, and I'm starting to exhale. Having a couple of my favotite things on my desk helps me remember to breathe when I feel overwhelmed.

And the knitting. I've made a mitten or two on my lunch breaks, and having the chance to reset in the middle of my day is good for my mind, body and soul!

I am tired at the end of my day, and it is good. The work is challenging, and comfortable, and it is good. The people I work with are intelligent, helpful and kind, and it is good. My supervisors are interested in my work and in who I am as a person, and it is good. 🙂 My commute has been, well, pretty snowy! 

It's actually not a bad commute, a little less than twice as long as my last commute (which was a whole eight minutes, lol!), and mostly highway. Still, I miss the worst of rush hour, both because of my actual hours and because I'm driving west in the morning and east in the afternoon! (Our "big city" is east of my house.) So, even my commute is good!

Yes, this is a transition. It's actually many transitions: Part-time to full-time; double the commute, surface streets to highway; jeans to more professional dress (for which I've been shopping!); church office to educational service office. But just as I've praised God for so many opportunities to do good work in church (and other) offices and settings, I am praising God again for this change!

What are you praising God for this week? Drop a comment to let me know. I'll be waiting to hear from you, cozy inside, probably knitting and maybe putting together some comfort food for later.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

After finishing the Constitution, it is said that Benjamin Franklin wrote,  "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," (in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789). 

I'll add to Mr Franklin's sentiment "and change." Life is always changing, transition is less of a season and more of a constant, at least in my experience. 

This weekend, I am smack-dab in the center of a transition between jobs, and the changes loom large! The other thing that looms large for me is the recognition of all I leave behind as Pam-the-Church-Secretary at Avon United Methodist Church.

Yesterday was my last day, and the past couple of months have been bittersweet, to say the least. The photo above includes most of the tangible gifts, cards and letters from friends and co-workers at the church. I wish I could also show you a picture of the love and friendship expressed verbally, because those intangibles are just as valuable to me...but they don't photograph well! 

With words as my love language, and the way I process my feelings, some of the most precious things to me are the written words of friends. Words expressing that I am loved and valued; words of appreciation for my gifts, talents and work; words of thanks for my time and investment in the people of this congregation over these past 6 years and 9 months...these have brought me to tears several times in the last couple weeks. Thank you,  friends, for sharing your feelings with me in words, hugs and gifts. I'll miss our regular interactions.

This last photo (which includes many of the things that lived on my desk at the church) shows you where all those sentiments will live. I keep a file of positive notes, cards and letters in an old, blue gift bag, and yours will soon be there, too. 

Thankfully, this isn't the end. Our journey of friendship isn't over, but it will change. Perhaps our communication will move more toward the digital realms of social media, and our weekly and monthly interactions will probably be less frequent...but I will continue to treasure you, and you will remain in my heart.

You see, I try really hard to live the way I think Jesus would want me to, but sometimes I fail. In those moments, I reach into that bag of word gifts and pull out loving reminders that I am enough.  I pull out reassurances that I often get it right, even though I'm not perfect, and I see myself through your eyes in those good moments...which is a reflection of how God sees me all the time, because of Jesus. 

All of that to say,

Thank you, friends of AUMC, for loving me so well. I love you, too.

Thanks also for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

All the Unpacking...

Still living out of boxes, so not much time to write. But the cats seem content, and I'm calling it all good! 

More details, and (hopefully) moved-in-and-out-of-boxes next week, friends!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Moves Like Jagger?

That post title is misleading. 

Neither Pop Pop nor Pretty "got the moves like Jagger," but we are moving.

Yes, in a little over a month, Pop Pop and I are planning a move. It will be a local move, with little to no dancing (maybe singing though...), to a condo in a neighboring town. I am overwhelmed by the process, and I honestly wish it were over already, but I suppose that is pretty normal. The outside will look something like this rendering:

It will be shiny and new, and we will no longer be responsible for snow removal or lawn care, which is good. Our little starter home of 26 years is paid off, so we won't list it until we have moved out, which will make it easier on the real estate agent and the cats. Cats hate moving and people parading through their place!

To be perfectly honest. Pretties hate having people parading through their place, too! I mean, you never know what someone will touch or see, and keeping a place clean enough to "show" while you are still living there is difficult at best! So, we know we are blessed to be doing it this way...but the waiting is tough! I mean, everything is not yet shiny and new at the condo...

But it is getting there! I hear that counters and cabinets will be installed soon, and this will start to look more like our new living space, so that is pretty exciting! This is what the model looks like, from an angle similar to mine above (fun to imagine with furniture!):

While we wait for buildings to be finished and loans to be closed, we will continue the great cleanout and start our packing...which explains all the boxes in my living room, lol! And we will spend time loving some of our favorite people, who will live just a little bit closer after the move. 

Happy Baby! I love a happy baby!

"Build house, Gee!" This kid loves to build and climb!

Yes, that will be good indeed! I will also be a little closer to work, and less commute time means more knitting time! Speaking of knitting, I finally put a lid on my 7-year Beekeepers Quilt, that I've been working on since 2013! 

That means that I can finally take down that counter on the side bar of the blog...I got up to 243 hexipuffs (though I only put together 233). I may use the other 10 for something else, but I may not. Either way, I am so excited to put this piece in my craft room as a pop of colors!

Prayers and moving mojo are greatly appreciated as Pop Pop and I navigate the next few weeks! If you have moving tips and tricks, please share. It's a little surreal, and 26 years is a lot of history here, but we are ready. New beginnings are good things, and every knitter could use a good excuse to knit some new dishcloths...so that's where you'll find me while we wait!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Church Secretary at Heart

As the month of June began, I found myself on Ravelry (think Facebook for knitters and crocheters, but better...if you yarn, check it out!), explaining to a group I used to post to very regularly the busy that has kept me from posting much in the last few months. I typed the following, and it dawned on me that I have not yet shared with the blog my latest job change...oops! (Below is only the job stuff...if you have been playing along at home, you know there was much more going on...at the same time.)

"So, in March 2016, I quit my job as church secretary at a church I loved from the bottom of my heart, about 9 months after my beloved minister passed away and the resulting staff-and-everything-else changes about did me in. I took a “dream job” (great salary/benefits/people are always trying to get into this company) for about 6 weeks, where my manager basically insinuated that I was too stupid to learn to enter data, and told me flat out that she was “embarrassed for me” because people referred to me as “that lady who knits.” Sooo, not a good fit.

"Then a friend gave me a job in insurance, so I got licensed to sell insurance, and he retired. I was hired by another agent, and stuck with him for about 16 months, and it was ok. But, I did not love it, so I started checking my options.

"On Indeed.com, I typed “church secretary” on a whim one day, and found an ad for a United Methodist Church that was hiring an office manager. I applied. What did I have to lose?

"I started at the UMC on April 2, and “shadowed” the current office manager for a month before she retired. There were a lot of “issues” to address, from files to processes to just about everything that applied to the job, and with no background in the Methodist denomination, I have had lots to learn. The GREAT thing is that I LOVE THIS JOB!!!, and I think they love me. The other great thing, is that I finally feel like I have my head above water most days, which means I get to breathe (and log onto Ravelry) from time to time!

"So, my summer plans include loving my job and going to Disney World (with son and family) later this month! Also, my sweet daughter is cooking a bun in the oven, the timer should go off around Thanksgiving! So watch for baby knits, and princess poses from me this summer! I hope you are all well and that you are finding some Joy this June!"

As my friends replied to that post, they encouraged me that "that lady who knits" is a great lady to know, and I can look back on my last two years as a time of adjusting to change on so many levels, searching for my best fit. Thank you friends! I knew almost immediately after starting at the UMC that the fit was a good one! I am thankful for what I can only assume was the prompting of the Holy Spirit to search a job-site category that barely exists, and I am so grateful to the church leadership for taking a chance on me, a lady who knits. 

As with any new job, there are always "issues" to deal with. Most are as simple as learning to live with Windows 10 (ugh!) on your work computer, or figuring out what each of the committees is responsible for (who gets this again???). Some are more delicate (forging relationships with an entire church!), but the bottom line is that I am taking it slow, and learning as I go. It takes time to wiggle into that empty space left by the gal who sat at my desk for the past 6 years, but I think I am getting there. There are still some gaps in my knowledge, but I am filling them in a little each day. Regardless of the gaps, I once again look forward to getting to work, so I can get to work, every day!

By the way, mums the word kinda on Disney...Pop Pop and I are surprising the grandkids with our arrival at the park (which is why the upcoming trip has not been all over social media, even though we have our magic bands and luggage tags, and we are ready to go! Squeee!). And yes, a bun in the oven for Face and Dollface, also mums during the early weeks, but now Facebook official! Again, squeee! Baby knits!

So there it is, for all the world to see. Once a church secretary (office admin, whatever the title du jour may be), always a church secretary at heart...for me anyway. And just like that, Pam the Church Secretary is back! (Hi Zach the Senior Minister!)

Where are you finding your joy this June? Wherever it is, I am glad that you clicked through to hear about mine.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

2015 - A Year of Great Change

If you know me in person, you know that I am not very good at change. I’d like to say that I was once good at it, but the truth is that I need routine. I crave routine. I very nearly cannot function without routine, and if my plans are interrupted, I will adapt…but it may not be pretty.

I’d also like to say that I have learned how to adapt better over the years, and that I am always eager to try new things…I’d like to say that, but it would clearly be a lie. What I will say instead is that I am willing to put aside my schedule and preferences and try new things (much of the time), and I can generally keep smiling through just about anything (including clenched teeth). Through my clenched-teeth smile, I tell you the truth: 2015 has been quite challenging for me.

However, even with the change and interruption, there are lots of wonderful things going on in my Pretty Knitty Life…

Even though my boss died in July, and the church I work for and belong to lost its minister of 28 years, we now have several pastors in place, and the church is growing! People are coming to see what we are all about, and they are sticking around to learn more about Jesus!

And even though my dear daughter was divorced in October, she is doing well. And my son and daughter-in-law gave us another precious granddaughter this year, who will soon be a year old! In fact, if all goes according to plan, I will attend her first birthday party, and that’s a pretty great thing when the baby lives several states away!

And even though my job has changed drastically, from the way I record prayer requests to the way I sign correspondence, I have learned lots of new things! We have new software that really challenged me in the implementation process, but now that it is up and running, I am looking forward to getting all the right people plugged in to use that software and keep all of the staff on the same page!

And even though I have had strained and broken relationships, as we all do, I have continued to make and cultivate new friendships while maintaining contact with many long-time friends! These friends, old and new, near and far, have carried me through heartache, surgery, grief and confusion in 2015, and they have also celebrated joy with me. My life is enriched because we call each other “friend.”

So, yes. 2015 has been a challenging year. There has been much change, and I have often been stretched in my cope-and-deal skills, but overall I am coping and dealing fairly well. However, be warned: I plan to knit on New Year’s Eve, whether alone or with friends. If you try to change that plan, I may not cope and deal so well…

How has 2015 stretched you and made you grow?

Whatever your answer is, I hope that you are looking forward to 2016. I will be welcoming the new year with open arms, even if I have trouble writing it on my checks for the first 3-6 months! If I don’t see you before the ball drops tomorrow night, thanks for stopping by the blog and Happy New Year!

Oh! And Knit in Good Health!