Regret . . .

Friday afternoon I went into Old Navy to pick up my schedule. After I got my schedule and ran into a few people going through the door, I sat down at the break room table and allowed myself to wallow in the large amount of regret I was feeling for leaving my job at Old Navy. I sat there thinking about how much I missed the people that I worked with and how if I had made decisions differently around Christmas time, that I could have been pretty well set with my job there. In effort to ease the sadness, I looked at how my life had changed since I stopped doing shipment at Old Navy and began my job at NWCCC. I did not have to think really hard to realize the great things that have come from working at NWCCC . . .

It begins when I walk in at 7:45am and walk down the hall and the first person I see is Mandy Taylor . . . then twenty or so minutes later when I make my rounds to deliver breakfast, I get to say good morning to Holly Hayes, and then about an hour after that I talk with Fez as he sets up the tables in the gym for lunch. Then a few hours later, after lunch is all set up and the big kids are eating, I get to go hang out with Holly in the Chickadees room, watching Davic put tartar sauce in his hair and hear Jack exclaim what a good eater he is.

I cannot begin to tell you what a blessing it has been to see these people everyday . . . to have conversations . . . to share life with them. To have an opportunity to develop these relationships has been really good for me. Building relationships has always been something that was difficult for me, at least the real, open and honest ones that I have come across here in Columbus, but these last few weeks have been filled with opportunities to hang out with people, get to know them and just simply have a good time. I am so grateful for those.

One of the those fabulous opportunities was yesterday, when I got the privilige of going with Holly and her friend Katie to see Holly's family down in West Virginia. It was sort of random and a little last minute, but it was definetly time well spent. The time was filled with great conversation, Holly's unique way of driving, good old Arby's, meeting Holly's really cool family, hanging out at a nursing home where I met Holly's grandmother, some good tunes, overall a nice time where people were simply present to each other.

So, with all that said, my regret for leaving my job at Old Navy has subsided, simply because I would be foolish to want to give up what I have gained in the last month in working at NWCCC.

Peace to you all.