Wow, the campaign is over. I find the feeling is similar to training for a marathon – when the big day comes – whether the time I wanted to hit is achieved or not – I’m ready to rest… but not for too long. Now, on the Saturday morning after, I look around at my utterly destroyed home and empty fridge and feel optimistic about “getting back to normal” with my family.
Being a first-time candidate for office, this was a tremendous learning experience for me. Being a continuous improvement / data person deep down to my core, I’ve made the spreadsheet, run the numbers, analyzed the outcomes, evaluated what was most effective and what didn’t work that I’d do differently. I’ve also taken some time to reflect on what I simply enjoyed about campaigning and what I found challenging. What I’d like to share most is that I enjoyed being out across the district learning something new every single day and talking with families about what was most important to them. Though I am very much an introvert, and honestly the thought of knocking on someone’s door terrified me at the start, I found engaging people in their passion for their children and their community to be truly energizing. I am looking forward to continuing to do this as a board member.
Now, as a person and board director-elect, comes the time for planning and preparing for the go-forward. I’m looking forward to adding back the things I had to set aside or reduced for a time – running, hobbies, house cleaning. I’m looking forward to being at home more just to hear my daughter practice piano and watch my son at his karate practices. I’m looking forward to the “First 90 Days” of director training, on-boarding, meetings to get to know my new colleagues, meetings with other districts’ board members who have reached out, community members and organizations, and much more. Each time I have started a new role at work or in an organization, I focus intently on ensuring I have an accurate “lay of the land.” What knowledge, assumptions, and ideas did I have going in that need to be refined with more in-depth knowledge once inside an organization? I’m looking forward to this phase of learning and to the future of turning that knowledge into actionable strategies and solutions for our district.
With this new commitment, also comes the less exciting part of determining the trade-off’s and the commitments I need to reduce. Dealing with the myth of
“Doing it All” is at hand. So as I make some challenging decisions, I remember a few things. There is a season for everything and we are placed in particular places for a time and a purpose. As this new season begins, my hope is to fulfill my position as a board director with full attention and commitment to our mission while continuing to be guided by my values in maintaining life’s most important priorities. Onward to into this next season!