"Are you going to the retirement event?" "Yes! Want to walk over with me?" My colleague and I head toward the Cultural Life Center where we find, in the atrium, a feast of fingerfoods including a chocolate fountain into which you can dip assorted fruits, pretzels, and cubes of angel food cake.
The space is abuzz with excitement as faculty gather to honor two of their own. Again this year I impressed by the accolades and jealous of the lifetime of accomplishments. I haven't even lived in the same city for four decades straight much less worked for the same institution. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily trade my adventures and exploration for their stable and familiar environment. Or the friends I have made along the way.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in new cultures and climates. Still, there is something to be said for continuity. It takes such a long time to really get to know how to do your work well in the specific environment you find yourself. That is, if you manage to not get stuck in a rut!
The accolades accorded to this year's honorees are intriguing. I would love to get to know people of this caliber better. A renaissance man who spoke to our seminary cohort, aka an Anglican priest. A Biology teacher who took a group of students to the Galapagos Islands one summer, aka a pastor's wife.
Though they are retiring, they will be around. Make a note. Ask to have lunch with them, just for conversation sake. Wonderful things can come of casual chat. Open up new worlds through another's eyes. Fabulous. Let's just hope our new hires are as amazing as our retirees!
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