HELLO!

Here is today’s service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A73nW4al1zg

On Friday my youngest brother retired. He was born in 1970. My middle brother (b. 1965) retired two years ago. My late father (b. 1939), retired at 54 when the provincial government was attempting to shed the size of its public sector. I will turn 63 later this year. Not only am I still working, I have another part-time job (navigator) and am frequently spending my days off supporting grieving families at one of HRM’s funeral homes for families I have never met before. I find my stamina remains intact, since taking on the navigator role my sleep pattern has firmed up at 2 am to 6 am. Kim would want you to know I do take naps, falling asleep after supper watching sport commentators (“Pardon the Interruption”) and on my days off (my late grandfather called these “Siestas”). I get sick much more than I used to, but I hunch the reason is less fresh air, I used to walk/take the bus everywhere, now I drive like everyone else. I’m happy.

I sometimes ponder how I make all this work, given that most of my friends and colleagues, who are my age, are slowing down, not speeding up. My answer is three fold, 1) I am blessed, for now, with good health (although strangely it can’t be genes as my family do not share in robust health), 2) I do what I love (not everyone has this privilege) and 3) my philosophy of work is not about the time/energy consuming details, I am not a perfectionist, and instead focus on what I call “meaningful experiences”. I have friends who are “big picture” in orientation, they too do not sweat the details. But unlike me, they tend to let a lot of things “fall through the cracks”. You know them as “people with their heads in the clouds”. That is not me. I will call people I have not seen, write thank you cards, bring prayer shawls, show up immediately when needed. I also keep track of my visiting, working toward 100% of the 490+ households in the church (40% at present). It’s not that details are unimportant to me, it’s which ones I invest in. My philosophy of work remains this, what are the moments, the actions, the experiences, that will last, linger, in my mind, in the minds of those whom I serve.

Details that I assume will be lost to history are usually forgotten by me as I am asked to supply them or acknowledge them. But stories, details that make a narrative I can remember, that others might remember, they hold my attention. I also have little patience for being “small”. If someone is upset because I was kind to someone, and they feel overlooked, even though I was kind to them only weeks before, I lose no sleep. I work hard to play no favorites. Kim says I am the only person she knows who is kinder to those he finds problematic than those he likes. But I refuse to play the game of withholding kindness based on the fear someone will feel left out. I immediately am drawn to those who feel lost and alone. But life is too short to live in fear. To use that old prayer of confession, I tend to worry more about the sin of omission than the sin of commission. I would rather make mistakes than be passive and point fingers from a distance. This philosophy frees up much time as the conventional, the need to please others, when removed, gives space and time to so much more that can be done in a day. Still working. Still happy. Peace, Kevin