If I learned anything growing up, it was the clear importance of loving what you do for a living. My mother set a fantastic example of a woman who loves her profession and career (even if things do get a bit stressful in Feb & March), while my father trudged off to work everyday at a job that, while not completely unpleasant, was something he’d probably have rather not done given the choice. Ma Norell would stay at the office late into the night on a regular basis, especially during tax season, while my father was home at the earliest possible moment most days. I’m not saying my dad had it rough or was unhappy, only that it was apparent what a difference it makes to have a job you enjoy.
Throughout my life (with one notable exception that lasted just shy of a year), I’ve been incredibly blessed in my lifetime to have jobs I adore. Take my current position at TWU as an example. I’ve got the title (director! ha!) and resources I need to do my job, and the people with and for whom I work support and respect me almost without exception. They make my job a pleasant thing to do on a near-daily basis. Stress inevitably creeps in now and then, but for the most part, I just find myself aglow whenever I sit back and realize that I get *paid* to do this stuff!
Today was one of those serious aglow moments. One of the academic units here is working furiously on a Web redesign using our new templates — not only are they working on an insanely quick turnaround deadline (self-imposed, but wisely planned to correspond with radio advertising starting next Monday), but they’re doing it with a core team of faculty members and GAs lacking extensive training or experience in Web development. This afternoon, I spent two hours at their office going over their new pages and fixing the small stuff — resizing an image here, adding a page title there — nothing mammoth, nothing difficult, completely the sort of hands-on, in-the-trenches work that, as a “director,” I don’t often have the chance to do. The things that I fell in love with about this trade in the first place.
But it wasn’t enough for me to be doing the front-line work that I love and, occasionally, miss. Oh no. By the gratitude of those I was assisting, you’d have thought I just gave them a million bucks. They actually TIMED ME so they could figure out how much they’d owe me if they had been paying me by the minute. (Aside: For a Web site comprising about 50-75 pages, it apparently took me 23 minutes — give or take a few seconds — to fix all the pages up and add unique page titles. A bit slow, don’t you think? hehe) It was cute. Sweet. Affirming.
Moments like those only serve to improve my outlook and redden up my cheeks with the flush that only comes from being genuinely happy and fulfilled in life. I know that’s sappy and gooey — but too dang bad, people. I’m one lucky girl.