Getting to Know You

My work life is undergoing a big change right now. I’m getting a new boss, and my boss is also getting a new boss. So, in effect, I’m getting two new bosses.

My first boss (the one directly supervising me) has been at our church for 20 years. She has been there for so long that SHE was the entire paid staff of the kids’ ministry. Now, there are 13 and counting. I’ve known her for a while, from when I was a volunteer at our church – before I started getting a paycheck.

My second boss (the one supervising me and my supervisor) is new to the ministry. He’s not new to our church, but he comes from the education world and is new to ministry. (Which is just fine by me, because I’m only a year and a half into it too!) I didn’t know him until a few weeks ago, so it’s a brand new relationship for me.

This morning, I’m sitting down in a meeting with Second Boss. He is doing this with every staff member in our kids’ ministry, so he can get to know each of us personally and professionally. So as I was showering today (which is where my brain does lots of heavy thinking), I started thinking about what Second Boss might want to know about me – and what I might want to share. These are the things that pinged my brain:

• I am so anal retentive that my towels are stored in matching sets. And when I finish showering each morning and hang my current towel up to dry, I have a system for rotating it on the towel warmer bar so it gets dried evenly every other day.
• I have baggage from my past jobs and a previous firing. It has made me a little more tentative in my professional life, which is sometimes good and sometimes not.
• I have baggage from my previous churches. (Who doesn’t?) But I can see how God has unpacked that baggage and used it to equip me for this chapter of my life. He’s good like that, isn’t He?!
• I am a lifelong Christian, yet I consider myself a new believer in lots of ways.
• I am transparent, maybe to a fault. I am okay with going deep and doing it quickly. I see the necessity of it in my job and in this new boss relationship. Sometimes, I hate my transparency – especially when I’m not ready to discuss my feelings with someone but I can’t avoid it because they see my emotions written all over my face. I wish I could control it a little better so I could be the one to decide when I’m ready to share them.
• Speaking of control, oh! I’m a doozie of a control freak. But the good news is I have lost some intensity over the years. (At least that’s what *I* think, although Dan might have something to say about that.)
• I have trichotillomania. Still.
• I love writing. And creating/crafting/making. I love talking to people and hearing their stories. I love sharing mine, because it is a testament to a saving Love that rocks my world daily. I love reading. I love people. And at the same time, I shake my head at them on a daily basis. (Myself included.) I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. And if I had an extra hour this morning, I would spend it by falling asleep in the LoveSac with my kids snuggled beside me under a blanket.
• The defining moments of my life still cripple me some days. Other days, they are barely a blip on the radar. The sucky part is I can have both kinds of day, even in the span of just one day.
• The classic job interview question of “What are your weaknesses?” could fill an entire interview (and has been filling a blog for five years!). I am passionate (good and bad). I care too much. I am prideful. I am self-centered. Ugh. Too early to start this today!

What else do I want to tell someone who is trying to get to know me? I’m sure my brain will keep chewing on this question throughout the morning. Obviously, it’s a professional relationship and I’m not going to share every detail of my personal quirkiness. But I see the benefits in sharing the gist of who I am in relationship with those around me – whether they are professional or personal.