Thankful for Lilypads

Before I graduated from Gordon, I talked with a former professor about what I was hoping to do after graduation. I gave my typical spiel: "I'm not really sure..., thinking about x, y, and z,.... hoping to figure it out later...(ya da ya da)" and then I told him about this weird thought that I had that perfectly illustrated what I wanted as a college graduate: I wanted a lilly pad!

I think of myself as a little frog who needed a lily pad: a place to jump from. Don't we all do different jobs and activities and jump from one idea to another before we land in one general occupation/career path? (and then usually jump a few more times after that until we retire?). I had absolutely no idea where to start -- and some vague ideas about where I wanted to land someday as I thought about what to look for in an entry-level-post-college-job. The starting and in between was really, really fuzzy to me - and overwhelming to say the least. Somehow that whole "starting somewhere" translated in my head to being like a frog jumping from lily pad to lily pad -- so that's what I decided to hope for: a lily pad to start on as I graduated from college.

And I'm so, so, so thankful that I have that lily pad right now -- a job and a place to call home that is so much more than a jumping off point, but a place where I feel supported and know I can learn lots before I am ready to move to the next adventure. I know that this is a gift -- and very hard one to come by in these economic times. And I'm happy to be here, in this job, in this place, with these people, and to let this time prepare me for the next lily pad someday.