So here's the deal: I'm not used to the luxury of having time or energy to do anything so involved as to blabber on and on in a blog. But I'm changing every day, now. So... let's find out if I'll actually stick to it. Somebody tell me if I'm doing something wrong here.
I just lost my job, see. Eight years as a Program Manager for a major international child welfare and adoption agency, and suddenly the money's not there to support my position anymore. That's not an unusual scenario for non-profit organizations, I know... I wasn't totally unprepared for the possibility. But eight years of loyal service and glowing evaluations, and they gave me 30 minutes' notice! Lots of apologies and hugs all around; everybody felt bad about dropping the hammer on me, but you know... a new policy because of a prior negative experience with a former employee grouching to other employees about getting canned, and all that. I guess I could understand it... My wife didn't. She's a realist. I still respect that agency. They are one of the most ethical in a very unethical world... but I have to admit the more I think about it, the more I feel I was treated with a lot less than respect.
Anyway... it was a terrific experience that I don't regret; lots of international drama, travel, and a chance to have a real impact on children's lives (programs to help orphanage children, adoption, international exchange with child welfare officials). Even though most of the time I just sat at a desk, cranking out piles and piles of boring reports, I felt my life had meaning -- almost as if I were personally working for each of the thousands of needy and precious little children who were touched by those projects.
And building on my prior experience as a Westerner living in China, I learned a lot working in this field... things most people never find out about intercultural challenges, orphanages, child welfare, international adoption -- all the politics, bureaucracy, and intrigue in the lucrative underworld of adoption and welfare programs in China and the U.S.
Anyway... I'm not bored. I'm considering lots of future possibilities and helping my wife with her business. I'm playing music -- a passion I had set aside years ago because I didn't have the time. I'm going to start volunteering in the community. I've got a little unemployment to help us out till I find some other source of income. I can't keep up with my list of tasks. Maybe I'll write some more.... We'll see.
