25 years is a long time

I was asked recently how long I had been involved with the YMCA. I thought about it for a minute and realized I walked through the doors of Westside YMCA 25 years ago this October. I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember meeting Eunice, Eleanor, Marian and June. They welcomed me with open arms and through the years taught me so much about organization, making the best of difficult situations, compassion, understanding, love and the Y. 

I arrived at the branch after Lew had left and Wayne Hart had not arrived. I remember one of my first task at the front desk was to send out the announcements of the new Executive Director. I didn't realize at the time the transition that would take place over the next months and years. I can say from Wayne I learned budgeting in a not for profit world. It was complex and simple at the same time. I learned also about attention to detail. Wayne could not spell at all. His office wall was covered in post-it notes all of them with important information, all of it misspelled. HOWEVER, he refused to let that be an excuse for any materials to go out with typos. You must remember this was a time when word processing was new an limited. Utako was our word processor and editor extraordinaire.  Wayne also made a big deal about knowing our members and their were no better ambassadors than June and Gary. They greeted each member and trained the part time staff as well. 

I was so blessed to work with people like Miguel Cardiel, his brother who we lost too soon, Mike Soto, Tom Stayer, Kris McCambridge, Eugene Lee, Clint, Mike F, Lisa Randall,  and the list goes on an on. We had fun. When rollerblades were new we had a traveling exhibition and would spend our break time and free time putting roller hockey games together in the gym. 

I was also so lucky to be in a place where I could volunteer as well. Through amazing people like Todd Katz and Geoff Rinehart I was able to become involved with camping and youth groups. What an amazing time. Caravans, pot lucks, mystery nights, haunted houses and more. 

I quickly moved into working day camp as well and met Staci, Christy, Amy, Jocie, Rick, Steve, Maribel and the list is too long to list here.  From Matt Storey I learned the planning wheel for focused and value based planning. All the things that separate the Y from other organizations. 

Through the years I have made life long friends. I have been able to work with the most wonderful kids who have grown up to be exemplary adults. In more recent years I have worked on Leadership Camp, Youth and Government and Campaign. I am a board member. I have my White Rag. So many accomplishments in my life are linked to my Y story. I became a teacher, much later than most, but I was so inspired by Kris, Maren, Paula, Ariella, Robyn, Nicole and on and on and on. 

At the Y I have known great joy, but also, in times of pain and sorrow I have turned to those who have been a family for me and they have sustained me. I have left out so many names in this blog. But I would like to add a few names who have touched me and made me go on when I didn't know if I had anything else to give. Thabiti, Ann, Fieron, Heather, Mike, Michael, Erik, Terri, Erin, Phil, Dann, Tom, Kathryn, Dave. To the staff throughout the years: Ed Viramontes, Dawn Flacks, Bhavani, Luanice, Erik, Deirdra, Anne, Jamie, Linda, Ernie. To board members who have been mentors and friends: Cathy, Dana, Arteria, Don, Dick and the rest. And a special thank you to Ann Samson who has pushed me to do more and more and to guide me and who has also provided support and wisdom through all these years. To Lew who came back and changed all of our lives.

This post is incomplete. I feel so grateful for the past 25 years and I know my life is better for having walked through those doors so many years ago. Just know, even if your name is not listed, you have all meant so much to me. I look forward to the next 25.

The other part of me

I have been blogging about my teaching experience this year, but find I need to balance my life a bit more and I need to rant in a comfortable environment. And so, here I am with an entry to just send "into the atmosphere."

I find lately I am incredibly sensitive to a few things. The economy, healthcare, racism and dealing with all of those things. 

I come from parents who lived through the depression and WWII. This, it seems, does have something to do with who I am as a person. I have a crazy work ethic. I don't understand the idea of a job being beneath me and I hate those who don't deal with their "stuff." I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no patience for adults not taking care of stuff.

I spent a summer searching searching searching for a job. I felt no peace until one week before school started I found a job. I am still dealing with the repercussions of living off of unemployment and savings. Today I will get my first paycheck. I was not out of work for long and I am so grateful. I have had times in my life where finances were out of control. In the worst of those instances I was married. I did whatever I had to to make ends meet. 

That included working at Montgomery Ward over the holidays. My parents commented about this situation and how I had a degree and yet found myself working part time retail. I reminded them they had raised me to work and if this was the only job available at that moment, then I had to do it.

My current situation is not quite the same and I want to feel grateful to have a job and I am grateful. But, Watts is far from my house and getting up at 5:00 a.m. each day is exhausting and the drive home is not good. I wonder if it really has to be this way. The answer is yes, it does. This is the reality. I have a job. An actual teaching job and that is what I need to focus on each day. 

So, you can imagine how little patience I have for people who do nothing because they can't be inconvenienced in any way. I say to you, "get over it. Do Something!" Please do something, anything. Take one step forward and be grateful you can take a step. It is unconscionable at this time in history to sit back and think things will change without every single one of us doing something to improve the situation.