Get set...

Today was our first day as "lame duck" staff at Hanfield. I spent a little bit of time going over some files and books to try to get a sense of what is going with us and what is staying. Our last day as staff is May 31, but I don't want to leave all of the house cleaning until the last week that we are at work, so I thought I'd get a start. I'm hoping to develop a secondary "to do" list to supplement the weekly one that I keep to help me organize what we need to do over the next six weeks. I really want to leave things in the best possible condition so that whoever takes on the responsibility will have everything that we can give to carry things forward.

I had lunch with Brent Williams and was blessed to hear his perspective on some things that I think will help us as we prepare and also will help us recommend some direction for what the transition looks like. Brent has always been a great friend and valuable team member, so I really appreciated his insight and also some of his personal affirmation for what might be ahead of us.

I'm feeling a little more focused today after a good night's sleep. It's amazing to me how just getting this out in the open has made things feel different. I'm taking a little extra time with people because I want to squeeze everything out of our time together that I can. We also contacted a realtor who will be by on Thursday to take a look at the house, so the house is feeling less like ours as we consider what we need to do to get it ready for someone else.

There are moments I wish I could freeze dry and keep and others where the call ahead is so strong that I can't wait to cast off what I carry now so that I can move faster. Those that have left somewhere or someone they love will be able to identify, but I'm not sure I totally understand it. We find ourselves telling the old stories for the first time in years as we try to recapture and celebrate some of the feeling, comradery and joy of those times, yet we find ourselves talking about a future we never intended; one that has been given to us like a treasure hunt that calls us forward and makes us wonder what's buried under the X.

The "get set" phase has begun. "Go" is coming faster than we know.