Convention, a Year Later

The convention is here again, but I don't really mind. What a difference a year makes! I will explain.

Last year, and for numerous years, it bothered me when the big convention came to town. Specifically, since I've started to live in the same town. It recalled to me the reality that I was not part of the convention. I did not belong as an active member, and I did not participate.

But the biggest problem was not simply that I wasn't an attendee at the convention -- but that I was more or less not an attendee at anything. I was without a job. I was without a place to call my own where my talents could be used for a productive purpose. I wasn't simply unemployed so that I had no money -- I was unemployed so that I seemed and felt like I had no purpose.

Praise the One Above! This year I was offered and accepted a teaching position on a college-level. I walk into a classroom three times a week. In another month, that will be expanded from three to eight periods. I sit with a group of intelligent and earnest students who desire to learn. I am given the opportunity to think, create, analyze, and define a coherent lesson to teach them.

The feeling of usefulness, the feeling that one is no longer "old hat" but still has value and can still utilize one's talents -- is a lifesaver. A long time ago, a prominent thinker, teacher, and psychologist told me, "you are too young to retire. You have much to give and it's way too early for you to stop giving."

I could not agree with him more, but did not have where to go with that idea. I first accepted a position in a different institution where the desire to teach and the desire to learn was a tug-of-war. Not only was that not a positive experience for me, but it was actually quite counterproductive.

But this year so much has changed. I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to join the staff at this college. It is a small, elite, and very special place. And it is a place where I feel my contribution is wanted, appreciated, and needed. And it is the place -- and the type of place -- that I always wanted to be involved with.

So the convention is in town. But that's okay. No hard feelings and no unhappy memories. Life has taken a turn for the better. And I am so appreciative.

What a difference a year makes.

Enjoy your convention folks, I'm doing fine.