Retirement. It’s a strange new world, most of us only experience once. We can’t practice it or experience it until it arrives (kind of like having a first baby). We wait…and wait…and wait and start preparing and then suddenly things start changing... really fast!  Little things you may not think about until it hits you in the face; like removing all the ongoing staff meetings on your calendar that were there in perpetuity for 22 years, and you are deleting the entire series or figuring out how to word an email away message that says you’re never coming back! I guess Teams will disappear when my email is disconnected. It was my lifeline to my colleagues during Covid and working from home… I’ll miss it.

The church staff is changing. When I arrived, Scott, Mark and Amy were here. Tenny, Gretchen and I started about the same time. All of us (and many others on staff) raised our kids at Christ Lutheran and what a blessing that has been! Those kids have blossomed into amazing young adults making a difference in their communities and in their professions, just as many of your kids. Aren’t we blessed to have such an amazing faith community instilling in them a servant heart with strong values and concern for each other and for their community?

‍

‍

I think about Hans Teich, Rick Herberg and Ken Sumlin who supported and encouraged my Ryan in the Crop Walk year after year. Celeste Lupo Hack was such an inspiration for him, and he loved working with her at the Soup Kitchen. As a single mom raising a son, I am so grateful for the mentors in Ryan’s life! Sigrid Teich, who saved a torn but beloved quilt. Linda Warren Sidway at the Children’s Center taught him to walk, and we both feared he would start school in diapers having no interest in potty training! (That didn’t happen!) David Helms gave Ryan his first razor and taught him how to shave. Amy taught Cherub choir and Tenny was his Luther Boys choir director. Kristin Glaeser Kavazos was his first babysitter. Debbie Kempter made his Quillow and helped him buy his first home. Dozens of you supported me and Ryan in our theatrical performances, and then there’s Mark Glaeser, a mentor to several generations of all our kids in The Experience (mine included), and what a blessing to have worked with him for my 22 years!

You may be thinking this blog is more about my son, but it’s not. It’s about 30 years at Christ Lutheran and 22 years on staff. It’s about memories and experiences so many of you have had in my life and in each other’s lives. Ryan seriously refers to his CLC family as the Christ Lutheran Mafia. You are our doctors, our dentists, our realtors, our lawyers, our teachers, our coaches, our pastors, and our closest friends! How many people are blessed with that feeling in their faith community?

Yes, the staff is changing, but that’s not a bad thing. Change brings new ideas and new energy. It’s important to know when to hand over the reigns (something I wish some in our government could figure out!). I leave you in great and capable hands. To the team… you got this!  Marcie, Mary, Alexis, Aimee, Kathy, Connie, Olivia, Thomas, and Pastor Ryan. They are young, creative, and extremely capable. They feel called to their profession every bit as much I have been. Pastor Scott, thanks for the opportunity those 22 years ago….and don’t forget how many years we have celebrated birthdays together!

Does someone leave a legacy when they retire? If they do, I hope mine will be that I left the church better off than when I started. I guess it’s kind of like life…at the end of the day, I hope it mattered that I was here and that I made a difference.  Thanks for the memories…see y’all in church!