Notes from Colleen’s Desk: Taking Time to Smell the Roses

I was feeling a little weary over the last weekend – which is really a bummer when it also lands on a 3-day weekend.  On what was a perfectly fabulous holiday Monday to get outside and take a hike, I found myself instead on my couch sacked out with my dog resting her head on my lap wondering what is up!

But that was after I stared out the window looking at the rose bushes that are about to be cut completely to the ground.  With a break in the weather, I was thinking I should grab the pruners and finish taking on those thorny foes.

For all my flower-loving friends no guilt trips please. Those 50-year-old bushes will grow back.  However, I can guarantee they will not look like those pictured!

After passing on the hike and a date with my garden gloves, I proceeded to beat myself up over my decision to hang out on the couch and just rest. What is wrong with me, I lamented.

If I am going to be inside, I should at least be getting a few more stitches in on that one-million-little x’s counted cross stitch project, or finishing that borrowed book, or reviewing that work document (or five), or dusting.

Maybe it is trait that goes hand-in-gardening glove with some of us who may lean toward being A-type personalities. We think that always doing something – creating the checklist and crossing off each item before 9 pm with a gleam in our eye – is calling it a successful day. At least until that Monday holiday rolls around and you find yourself spent. So much so, that you must take a day off from the office on Tuesday to recover.

In full disclosure, I did have a therapeutic massage on Monday after seeing the chiropractor. A deep tissue massage in and of itself might make you want to hibernate for a year. Honestly, I was already seeing the chiropractor for other issues, aside from my checklist fetish. Competitive bowling for about 40 years, and then thousands of trail miles with a 35-pound pack, may have something to do with it.

I did have a minor accident recently though and subsequent car shopping puts us A-types into a whole different realm of stress.  I should rest up, but holy bark mulch, this is no time to smell the roses! I need to compare the pros and cons of prospective vehicles, over-analyze the color, negotiate the price, and plan a new car party with match box party favors.

At SOREDI, particularly now as we STILL continue to navigate the economic disruption of two disasters, I am feeling weary. I am tired of meetings. I want to get something done and check it off the list! We want businesses to prosper again and residents to have a place to call home. Yet, there are so many complexities that are not even under our control. And so, we wait longer. It is agonizing for me.

As I was bemoaning my weariness and what seemingly feels like lack of progress for so many citizens impacted by the fires, a trusted friend reminded me of a beloved verse that was the perfect anecdote to my thorny disposition.  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Many community leaders, citizens, volunteers, and state and local officials are taking great strides to put the re-building blocks together for communities impacted by the Almeda fire. There are thoughtful conversations and hoped-for policy changes in motion, and many small steps are indeed being taken behind the scenes. We are doing good. It is not a check mark on the list yet, but I know I need to trust the process.

SOREDI is pleased to announce that we fully expect to have a Business Disaster Recovery & Resiliency Liaison on staff as soon as mid-March. The position offer has been made and our application for technical assistance funding from the Economic Development Administration is in the works. Watch for this new staff member introduction and other related staffing announcements soon.

The economic disruption due to fires and the pandemic will unfortunately have long term impacts. Here’s an article from the Harvard Business Review entitled “9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2021 and Beyond” that is thought provoking.

I particularly resonated with #7 in that article and took it to heart as I scribed this writing. Operationally, SOREDI is seeking better ways to manage our workloads and do our job better for every jurisdiction we serve and for the benefit of every citizen. Embedded into that plan is to cultivate more margin within our work lives that allows us listen more, to linger longer in the garden, play with the puppy, and smell the roses.

I am personally working on margin in my schedule. I may need to cancel some appointments in order to achieve a rosier result, which my dog named Rosie (ironic, isn’t it!) will no doubt also appreciate.

If I should need to cancel or reschedule my appointment with you, please forgive me.  I promise to make it up to you and send you a rose bush. Don’t like roses? I also have iris bulbs and tiger lilies.

There is still a lot of dirty work to take on, but cheers to rosier days ahead.

Sincerely,

Colleen Padilla

Executive Director