Well the time has come. The last seven years as principal of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School has come to an end. It has been the best seven years of my career. It was also very humbling to look back and see the mistakes, accomplishments, trials, tribulations, joys, sorrows, etc. The last several months(I announced that I was not returning in February) have been very long and very difficult for emotional reasons.
I cannot believe it has been seven years. Looking back, they flew by so fast, it is almost like a flash of lightening going across a dark, cloudy sky. I have seen some real joys, hiring teachers, graduating 8th graders, working with the best staff of my career so far, watching three friends of mine become ordained priest. The joys are endless, and so fruitful, it wasn't until some people reminded me of them, that I even remembered.
I have been the luckiest person in the world for another reason. I had the joy, for the last six years, of taking my children to work. Because my children attended St. Charles, everyday was take your children to work day, for me. The downside to this is it was hard to separate being a father and a principal sometimes. The difficulty of separating the two, led to the decision to leave St. Charles. I decided that they were becoming to intermingled and it was hard to separate the two roles. I was reminded that Father and Husband was the first vocation given to me by God, and it was time to renew that, and take away the role of principal. That being said, with great sadness, I decided to not renew for another year.
Side note: My children were upset at first, and a little confused. In the past, I would not let them have sleepovers at our house, for I was the principal of their friends, which was a huge conflict of interest, for me. The kids were sad, at first, and there might have been some tears when I told them I would not be retuning as principal. Once I told them they could now have sleepovers with their friends, the amount of time it took to tears to dry up, and the sleepover list to be created couldn't be timed at the Indy 500. Let's just say, they got over it quickly.
I am back. With any position, there comes some sadness. I have helped families struggle through some tragedies. We lost a dear friend and staff member. This was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I had to do in my career. Console a staff member, whose just lost her husband(another staff member), while trying to hold it together myself. It was difficult, but with God's grace, we have all made it through.
Now it is time to move on. While it took some time between February and May, not to mention the sleepless nights, not wanting to eat, all the signs that come with stress, I am delighted and excited to announce that I am officially the principal of St. Pius X in Indianapolis. No longer am I a St. Charles Hawk, I am now a St. Pius Panther. I am as excited to get things going at St. Pius X, as I was seven years ago for St. Charles Borromeo. It is a renewed feeling and I feel refreshed and ready to move forward.
I ask your prayers for me, the St. Pius X community, and the St. Charles Borromeo community. With God's close eye on us, we will all hopefully make it through these transitions with more joys than pains.
I know you have heard me say this before, but I will really try to blog more. Don't forget to sign up for email alerts whenever I do post. It will prevent you from checking back and seeing no change, and the frustration that comes with it.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
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