My Collegiate History

What colleges have you attended?

I took my first college classes when I was in high school. Highland Community College, which began in 1858 as Highland University, was the first college in Kansas. (I learned this just today.) Without ever actually “attending” Highland, I was able to get college speech and English classes out of the way. I have a fear of public speaking, so I was especially grateful to take speech class with kids I knew.

I attended Kansas State University for four years. KSU has also been around a long time. It was founded in 1863 as Kansas State Agricultural College. The College of Business Administration is one of nine colleges that make up the university today. I received a bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting in 1985.

After working for fifteen years, I went back to school to get my masters degree. The company I worked for paid $5,000 of my annual tuition at Regis University in Denver. Regis is a Jesuit university and was founded in 1877.

It took two years of evening classes to earn an MBA from the Regis School for Professional Studies, which was geared towards adult learners. I attended most of my classes at the south campus with other adult students. As a graduate student, I did not feel as connected to Regis as I did as an undergraduate at KSU.

We encourage our students to seek truth, live purposeful lives and attempt to answer the question: “How ought we to live?”

Regis University

I was the first college graduate in my family. There are many more college graduates in the next generation, including a few who graduated from KSU.

I treasure my college memories. I lived on campus in a dorm for two years, then lived off campus in a small house with two roommates. Those years taught me to be independent and responsible.

Word Games

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

I am a Wordle addict. (As of this morning, I’ve played 690 daily games.) By the time I get up in the morning, my brothers David and Ross have already played and shared their results on Facebook.

David likes to give hints after playing, as does my friend Brian. I prefer to solve Wordle without hints, but my sister Cindy uses them to her advantage. In just the past week, she solved one game in two guesses and three games with one guess! The average number of guesses is four.

I asked Cindy if playing with clues feels like cheating because that’s how I feel. She said no; she still has to figure out what David’s hints mean. Cindy is very competitive (and shameless!).

Since you can only play Wordle once a day, I found more daily word games to play every day – Quordle, Quordle Sequence, and Octordle. They’re all more challenging than Wordle.

Word games wake up my brain every morning.

Changing seasons

What are your biggest challenges?

Last June, I fractured my shoulder and had rotatator cuff surgery, followed by three months of physical therapy. It was challenging to regain my range of motion.

I went to a client’s board meeting in July. Schlepping my bags around the airport with one arm in a sling was challenging. The board approved a couple of changes to the company’s business plan. I did not look forward to implementing the changes.

That business trip triggered my decision to retire this year. My retirement day will be the start of a new season in my life.

My job will be challenging for the next few months. My busy season as an accountant goes from January through March or April. Multiple deadlines and worries about how I’m going to get everything done on time are stressful.

I don’t look forward to the challenge of training a replacement to do my challenging job. What if he or she can’t handle it?

My biggest challenges have been short-term and seem insignificant compared to the challenges other people face.

I Would Walk 500 Miles

This month, I ran a 6.5 mile leg of a marathon relay. After three or four miles, I noticed that the refrain of 500 Miles (I’m Gonna Be) was playing in my head – the only words I knew. Later, I looked up the lyrics. At all times, no matter what the singer is doing, he is so devoted to the one he loves that he’ll go twice the distance.

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Before this song got stuck in my head, I had been thinking about writing a retrospective post about the past 500 days – about the spiritual angst I feel as a follower of Christ living under the Trump presidency. But the song made me think that I should be looking forward and not backward.

When I am drowning, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the sinner saved by you.
When I’m hurting, I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the one healed by you.
When I’m lost, yeah I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be a disciple following you.
When this world falls apart, dear Lord, I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the one trusting you.
But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the one who walks a thousand miles
To stand outside your door.

Before I ran my relay, I went through several weeks of training to improve my speed and endurance. When we all finished, everyone of us got a medal, just like those who ran the whole distance.

I am not running to get a medal that will not last. My reward is eternal life with Jesus.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. – 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (NIV)

via Daily Prompt: Retrospective

Finding the courage to let go

I confess that I feel a bit guilty about unfriending people on social media, even if the relationships are superficial. But I think that when you get older, you realize that you don’t have the time for drama. You don’t see the point of wasting your emotional energy on battles you cannot win.

At the beginning of the year, after reading a book on spiritual maturity, I resolved to be more authentic. That meant being free to be me without worrying about what people think of me. Something interesting happened when I decided to be the real me. In letting go of my need to be accepted by others, I found the courage to let go of people whose worldviews are diametrically opposed to mine.

While I can still accept the people I can not change, I accept that sometimes there are irreconcilable differences, as in views on gun control, or the freedom to protest peacefully, or on immigration or the separation of church and state. The religious and political environment we live in highlights the great divide between us.

Facebook made it easy to establish a social connection with classmates or relatives. But if I am honest with myself, I don’t have much in common with many of them. I am no longer willing to pretend that we have anything meaningful in common. We don’t even share the same zip code.

Guilt, with the click of a button, I’m letting you go too. And I won’t even say goodbye.

via Daily Prompt: Guilty