Saying good bye to my mentor

Today, I had to do something that I have been dreading for awhile; I had to say goodbye to Jennifer. How do you begin to say thank you/goodbye to your mentor? I really thought we were going to do this tomorrow but Jennifer called me and told me to stop by her office this afternoon. I knew what we had to do. She knew what we had to do. We had to say good bye. We know we won't pop into each other's office any more. We know we won't work day in, day out anymore. We know change is a comin'.

Jennifer and I go back all the way to my junior year in college. She taught me research methods. Now doesn't that class just sound sick! Who looks forward to learning about quantitative or qualitative research? I really wasn't jumping up and down looking forward to the class. However, Jennifer presented it in a way that I understood it. Her teaching provided a solid foundation of knowledge for when I had to take research methods in grad school.

It was in research methods, that I found out about her family. She would speak about her husband and would show pictures of her absolute doll of a toddler. It was also through this class that I realized Jennifer worked in Extension. I knew she was someone I wanted to keep in contact with since I was pursuing Extension. I tried to meet with Jennifer outside of class and visited her during office hours. Jennifer even joined me at lunch one day as I scarfed down ham fried rice from the Student Center. It was through this class that I began to see how much Jennifer cares for not only her family but also her students.

Fast forward a few years and I suddenly found myself in Extension working as an Associate for a financial management initiative. Jennifer was the specialist and I now had the opportunity to work alongside her. Y'all I was GREEN in the beginning. I was in grad school, happy to make a real paycheck, and trying to figure out what exactly Associates do. Jennifer, took me under her wing and I learned from her. Don't get me wrong I had plenty of trial and errors. There were several times I felt like I could have done better but knew the growing pains would pass with time. Jennifer supported me when I was learning those hard lessons.

I love presenting with Jennifer. When she talks to agents you sense the amount of respect they have for her. Agents know she is going to produce good work and she does what she says she will do. We work in a day and time when people are always "busy" and say they will do it but then fail on their promise. Not Jennifer. She always is thinking about the agents and their needs in the county. It was this mindset that helped me realize that I work for the agents. I am their resource. Simply, if it wasn't for the agents, who would my clientele be?

Through our presentations, we have heard each other's stories countless times. I know what the next point Jennifer is going to make. I know no matter how crazy her day was, she will give an informative presentation full of financial facts.

I say all of this to tell you that our experiences together made today that more difficult to say good bye. Not only have I found a mentor and colleague, I have found a friend. Jennifer knows all about my life and I know about her's. In three short years, she has given birth to sweet baby girl, I have graduated with my Master's, got engaged, and planned a wedding. That is a lot of life in 3 years.

As sad as I am today, I know that I have a mentor for life. I know I have someone in my corner who I can bounce ideas off of and get advice. I trust her opinion and know she will bring a great perspective for me to consider.

Before I went to Jennifer's office for the last time I prayed to God for courage and strength to say good bye. As I entered Funkhouser and rode the elevator to the third floor, I knew the time had come. I walked into 319 and sat in my normal chair. We talked for 2 hours about anything and everything. We did a great job avoiding the pink elephant in the room. When the time finally came to say good bye, we hugged 3 times and surprisingly I held it together. I attribute this to God. I walked out with the promise I would see her in July sometime for lunch and assured her I am a quick email/phone call away.

It was in the stairwell that I became emotional. All of the sudden the stairs became blurry and I had to hold onto the rail. I couldn't be strong anymore. The tears and sniffles came and I embraced them. As sad as I was to leave her, I knew I had 3 great years with my mentor. How could I be sad? I can only be thankful. I made it outside and read the card she gave me and had to take a little moment. I sat on that picnic table knowing that change isn't easy, this is only the first of many good byes in the next few weeks, but how thankful I am to have people like Jennifer in my life.

JH, I love ya and "THX" for a great 3 years.

"Welcome to the Future"

Ya'll sometimes I scare myself because I feel like I am so far behind in terms of technology. I am a technology laggard. I am living like it is circa 2000 and the burned rap CDs in my car prove it. When I say technology, I mean computers, Ipods, Iphones, anything to do with Apps, and the list could go on and on. Jace is like this too. We enjoy our Y2K living. We don't have fancy technology and we seem to get by. Well, things got a little bit fancier this past Monday when I upgraded to Iphone 5.

We have all done it and we notice when others are on their phones. I get frustrated when I see couples at a restaurant and they aren't talking to one another because they are on their phone. I hate seeing people sitting in meetings on their phones. I hate waiting behind someone while in my car and they won't go because they are looking down on their phone. My blood boils when someone can't finish a conversation with me because ding, there is an email or text.  I never want to become "that" person. Smartphones are the reason for this.

For quite some time my cell phone, lovingly called the brick, wasn't keeping charge. Let me tell you a few things about my cell phone. I could drop it and the pieces go everywhere, put it back together, and it would still work. It was an LG Shine. Lauren, Chris, and I got it our JUNIOR year in college, which was 2008. The brick looked like it could potentially have snake or tennis on it. It was not a smartphone. I could only take grainy pictures and don't ask me to open up video. There was no face time and who needs to check email when I have a computer. In the words of the AT & T commercial, my mind was blown when I upgraded to the Iphone 5! Y'all it hurt my soul to pay that much for a phone however, I bit the bullet and just did it.

Mom and Jace convinced me that I needed a reliable phone since this summer I will travel home frequently and especially when we start the moving process. I dragged myself to the AT & T store. We all know the dreaded feeling of going to the cell phone store. You just know that you will have to wait in line forever and they are going to try and sell you something that you probably can't afford. I went to the Mayfield AT& T store and surprisingly there was no wait and they didn't have to sell me anything. I knew what I needed and wanted to make it as painless as possible. I texted Jace while waiting (sometimes I may be "that" person) and told him I was getting the Iphone 5. His response was, "welcome to the future", which is fitting since Jace has had an Iphone for quite some time now.

After they did what they needed to do to activate it, they handed it over to me. I felt like I need to swaddle it because it is worth a lot of money and I am scared to death I will drop it. I have had it for less than a week and my life has changed. I make Siri do everything: Siri, text Jace. Siri call Mom. If only Siri could help me write bridal thank you cards!

I understand why people check their phones when it dings. I understand why you are on it in meetings. I am absolutely in love with the phone. I love that I can listen to my music, check my calendar, email, FB, and Pinterest. I can't get over that I can listen to my music, someone call me and I don't have to take out my ear buds. Again, my mind is blown. It is nice to be in the "future".

If you have any tips for me, please let me know. I am still learning but at least I am eager! This "future" isn't so bad after all!

Bridal Shower

This past Saturday was our bridal shower, which was held at my home church First Christian Church.
Beforehand, I talked to Lauren and Liz about their wedding showers and asked for any tips. Liz said to eat as soon as we could and as fast as we could. I tried. I shoveled in cake, which was so good, but didn't eat an entire piece because I enjoyed talking to everyone so much more. Lauren said to try to get through the gifts quickly because no one likes to sit all day at a shower. I tried to keep both pieces of advice in mind and am thankful that friends have already gone before me and can provide wisdom.

Five lovely ladies hosted our shower and they transformed the fellowship hall into a beautiful space. Rita decorated the tables with hydrangeas from her yard and accented the vases with sage green ribbon.

 

Each lady made a cake and they looked beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't have time to taste them all but the reviews were raving.

For our wedding, I really haven't recreated anything from Pinterest but I did ask that this cupcake dress be made. Is this not the cutest?

 



As with any shower, there are several gifts and cards and Jace and I were overwhelmed with everyone's generosity. We love our gifts but probably the best part of the shower was visiting with everyone. We think there were at least 60 people who stopped by and Jace and I tried our hardest to speak to everyone. We saw people we hadn't seen in a long time and it was so good to catch up everyone. Jace and I are talkers and we visited with everyone until we felt like we HAD to start opening up gifts because if not we wouldn't have left the church until the wee hours of the morning. Once we settled down and started opening gifts we realized that we would be there awhile. We would open several but it wouldn't seem like we put a dent on the pile.

Y'all I have a great man! Poor Jace woke up a 6 AM and drove from MS to KY to make it on time for our shower. Once there, he was in charge of writing down the gifts we received, he threw away the wrapping paper/bag/tissue paper, and then walked the gift over and created another pile for opened gifts. He did this for every.single.gift. Bless him!

Bride & Groom

Once everything was all said and over, I can confidently say our kitchen is making good progress. We received several things that will help me set a beautiful table. Now, I just need to learn how to prepare, cook, bake all this food I am supposed to put on the plates, bowls, and serving pieces!

Our family

Our mothers gave us wonderful gifts. Mom got us an Amish quilt and bake ware and Dana bought our 8 piece setting of our every day dishes. Both of which will come in handy! Here is a picture of all the gifts after the shower!

The After



As much as we love our gifts, we can only take a select few to Gainesville. We simply don't have room in our apartment and I am afraid something will get broken in the moving process. Thankfully, Mom has a huge basement and everything will be stored there in the meantime. So when we move again in another year, we will essentially have another shower. We will get to see and finally use our wedding gifts.

Overall, it was a great day! We got to see so many people and I only wish we had more time to talk to everyone longer. Jace and I are overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our friends and family. Through this entire wedding process, everything has been so surreal, including our shower. I just can't believe I am going to marry this great man and all of this is for us?! All of it makes this girl weak in the knees and teary eyed!

Work Celebration

Jennifer told me several weeks ago that her, Jeanne, and Nicole were planning a celebration for my time with MITT/our upcoming marriage and move. I resisted this party for several reasons with one being that I just wanted to exit quietly. I want to pull the door shut on the last day and not have a big fuss. I don't feel like I have done anything really big. It's not like I have cured cancer or worked for 30+ years. I have enjoyed my time with Managing in Tough Times and I have fulfilled a dream of mine to work in Extension, just like my Papaw did. Yet, I didn't want a big deal made of my resignation.

My resignation is bittersweet. I hate to leave Jennifer and the agents. Jennifer has been instrumental in my college and professional career. We work well together and I respect the work she does. She is well respected in her field and I know she is going to continue to do BIG things. We have shared successes together and we have shared Cokes on days that were less than fair. Our friendship has only deepened over the last 3 years and to see someone almost every day for 3 years and then up and leave is hard.

Then there are the agents. The agents are my clientele. I have nearly 400 agents that I communicate with and answer their questions. My job is to keep them happy and respond to their requests. Some of the agents have become good friends and I love when I can visit with them. I admire the work they do. They are true game changers in their communities. They work towards improving citizens' behaviors, increasing citizens' knowledge, and ultimately change the social, economic, and environmental conditions of their county. I stand in awe at what all they accomplish each week and the hours they put in. Their passion for their job is inspiring to me and I know that they don't do it for the money; agents do their job because they like helping people. Needless to say, they are a mighty fine group to be around and learn from.

I ate a FAIR amount of that cake!

Both Jennifer and the agents embraced me at age 22, when I was green, and still figuring out what exactly an Extension Associate was supposed to do. The support and encouragement I received got me through hard days and uplifted me even higher on good days. As happy as I am to marry my best friend and start the new chapter in our lives, it is bittersweet to leave. However, Extension will always be a soft spot in my heart. Yet, I want to take advantage of this transition in my life and explore other areas and find new challenges.

But before I can explore new challenges and new chapter, I must finish this wonderful chapter that is MITT. Today was a great celebration with people that I love. These people have answered my questions and helped me out when I have found myself in pickles.

Jennifer, Nicole, and Jeanne hosted a great party with wonderful food and presented me with a beautiful monogrammed silver jewelry box. Dr. Ann Vail, Dr. Laura Stephenson, Jeanne, and Jennifer spoke and their words were incredibly touching and sincere. I knew without a doubt that I wasn't going to cry however, when Laura starting speaking, my throat tightened up and I knew I was losing a fighting battle. I was a wreck by the time Jennifer started to speak. We have been dreading this moment for weeks now. Jennifer did a great job holding herself together whereas I wiped every bit of my concealer off with my tears.

Jennifer, Nicole, myself, and Jeanne

Overall, it was a great day seeing and thanking so many wonderful people who have guided me and modeled me as a professional. Though the celebration wasn't necessary, it was much appreciated. I am lucky to know so many great people and I only hope to teach others the lessons they have taught me these past 3 years.

God is Good!

God is Good! Today I felt God. He told me thank you for trusting in me. Thank you for being patient with my plans. For you my daughter, I am putting the pieces together and everything is shaping up nicely.

Today was just a great day all around and here are a few reasons why. Everyone is starting to receive their wedding invitations and I heard from a few dear friends saying they received theirs. I am so excited that it is in our guests hands and not in my possession anymore! I had fun looking at the different invitations and tried to pick out something that reflected Jace and I. I hope everyone loves them as much as I do. It is just the next step towards our wedding!

To top off the day, Jace called me up and said that his final grade was posted. He took his Elder law final 5 weeks ago and we just found out the grade today! It always takes a long time to receive grades and it seems to take adjuncts a little bit longer. Jace checked every day and finally today it posted! Warning: I am going to go into full fledge bragging fiancé mode. He earned an A. Mr. Stamper earned a 4.0 this semester! Because this final grade was an A, Jace will be a Summa Cum Laude! All his hard work, sacrifice, late night library study sessions finally paid off and in a big way. But as Jace says, God is a better test taker than he is. Jace doesn't want any anyone to make a big fuss of his accomplishments which makes me want to celebrate them even more. He is quick to give all the Glory to God and is way more humble than I am.

With the invitations out and Jace's grade being posted, I just feel like things are coming together. We are so close to realizing our dreams. I feel that God is telling us, "kids, don't worry. Don't stress. I am taking care of everything." I feel like this is confirmation that we are doing what we should be doing and that He will take care of us. It feels good to feel this confirmation!

I hope y'all had a blessed day as well.