Just a teaser of what's to come

Executive bliss

Gosh I am almost afraid to say this out loud, like I if I do, it will suddenly come crashing down on my head. But, here goes. I love being the Executive Director of Summa Institute. It is as if I have finally found my true calling, my vocation. I am challenged to learn something new almost every day. I meet amazing people, people who are really thinking about education, I mean really thinking about education. You have no idea how refreshing that truly is. And then there is something about the frantic pace of being a mother of two small children and being at the head of this organization that I find stimulating, challenging yes, but definitely stimulating.

The other night I was lying in bed waiting for sleep to come and I just could not stop thinking about a lunch meeting I had the next day. I had to get out of bed and work. Work, in this case, meant prepare for my meeting, but nothing about it felt like “work”. I was focused, intentional and intrigued. And that is how I feel about what I am doing all the time (hear me knocking on wood).

My days are filled with meetings, phone calls, putting arnica on bumped heads, document creation, organizational strategy, changing diapers, email and then more email, laundry and then more laundry, reading up on management styles, and all the other housework that comes with family life. And I couldn’t be happier. Funny, if you told me at 23 that this was what my life would be like, I never would have believed you. I think I have succeeded in part of my intention with this blog, I have discovered meaningful life’s work for myself. I am grateful.

What its like

So it’s now been a little over one week since I wrote about my big news. In this last week, I have been completely overwhelmed by the support and voices of agreement, knowing this is the right thing. And I have to say that being the Executive Director of Summa has been, so far, a total joy. There used to be aspects of what I was doing on a day to day basis that were hard for me to find the motivation to do. Not anymore. Even the things that I used to not care for seem somehow to have taken on new meaning. Why is that?

Is it simply that I have found my vocation? My calling? What I really want to be when I grow up? There are many moments when I feel a greater sense of responsibility and the freedom and energy to rise and embody it. It is exciting, I am learning every day, and it feels great. I am going with it.

News of Summa – our website is live, check it out at www.summainstitute.org We are closer to having a building (well at least we have some spaces that we are taking the next steps with – never know how that will turn out). We have an incredible brand book that is beautiful, inspiring and useful. And we have a board whom are willing to work for our mission. So what all this means is that we are closer than ever to actually opening a school in the fall of 2011 and a training facility for our teachers before that. Hallelujah!