This morning I woke to a snowstorm out my window, and when I went out to shovel after a late breakfast I found that another foot of new snow had fallen overnight. That much new snow on the trees make for a nice winter postcard, but when the sun comes out and the sky is bright blue I’m easily awed by how gorgeous the landscape is. We are truly blessed with such a beautiful world! I decided I was going snowshoeing.
I simply wanted to get to one of my favorite spots on the river so I could soak up the sun and scenery (above). It’s been a tough week, and the morning by the river was peaceful and uplifting. When I returned to the truck and sat on the tailgate for a while, I could follow my tracks in the snow … a lonely column through the powder. Soon, another truck pulled into the lot, and I watched as a family of four got out of it to play in the snow, breaking the silence while making snow angles, a snowman and throwing snowballs at each other. Their giggles and shrieks was music to my somber spirit. It reminded me of a saying I learned years ago during my college internship in Colorado, “The family that plays together, stays together.”
My career in parks and recreation has conditioned me to be able to focus in the midst of lots of noise and activity. I’ve had offices right next to swimming pools, playgrounds, fitness machines, exercise studios and ballfields. The noise that comes with a recreation center is music to my ears because it means we are serving people, people are being active and they’re coming together in community for some fun shared interest. When work is quiet, it’s actually depressing and makes me sort of melancholy.
Since March of 2020 when COVID shut most of the world down, our recreation center and pool have been mostly empty due to health code restrictions. We were completely closed for about seven weeks, and most staff worked from home leaving the building deathly silent. Once we learned how we could reopen our child care and the families returned, the activity level and noise was not only joyous to my ears, but all of our teachers and staff involved in the child care were giddy that we were back with the kids. The windows in my office look directly out over the preschool playground, and I routinely get startled by a ball being kicked against my window or a toddler screaming bloody murder because another kid beat him to a toy he wanted. I wouldn’t trade that environment for anything.
I am so grateful that I’ve been able to make a career out of parks and recreation. It’s a very broad industry that is hard to describe, and few people – even employees in our industry – understand its breadth and depth. In my early years I worked as the child care teacher, camp counselor, lifeguard & swim lesson instructor, youth sports coach, and more doing lots of the direct service work with patrons both young and old. It may sound like fun, but experience has shown that very few people actually have the patience and fortitude to do it well for a long time. It’s in those roles that I learned the power of human connectedness, the importance of body language in communication, the value of attention given to another person, and the meaning of servant leadership (credit to John C. Maxwell for the lessons!). As my career advanced up the organizational chart I experienced less direct service with patrons, and replaced it with service to the employees I supervised and the elected officials charged with leading us. That sort of career path has kept me learning and growing in unexpected ways that have been satisfying – I never thought I’d ever work with archeologists, but I have! As an executive my work is mostly business, politics, planning and finances these days. But the magic of a smile and a kind word or touch has never failed to matter and make me feel better.
You’re probably familiar with the saying, “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” This sentiment is echoed in the song Vacation by the Dirty Heads in the chorus that sings, “Hey, hey, heeeeeeeeey! I’m on vacation every single day cuz I love my occupation.” (The video is fun too on YouTube.) The last 15 years of my career have been far more work than games, but I still find purpose and service and impact and magic and opportunity and joy a few moments every day. It’s special. I’m lucky. And I have a great team in my agency and a great network of colleagues across the country to share it with.
I genuinely hope you can say you love what you do, are passionate about what you do and who you do it with and for. So many professions are essential in our society, and each has its impact and opportunities to impact lives. The next line of the chorus to Vacation by the Dirty Heads continues, “Hey, hey, heeeeeeeeey! I’m on vacation. If you don’t like your life then you should go and change it.” Change is scary, but we only get one ride on this planet. I challenge you to use this next trip around the sun to make that change happen and be in a better place a year from now if you aren’t happy in your current situation. There’s no better way to take that ride than having a rewarding time serving others.
(You may not be surprised to learn that when I started up my truck and left the river, Vacation soon started playing on my playlist. I can’t get the song out of my head today!)
Cheers!
View From The Tailgate 