Today is my ten year anniversary working at the National Runaway Safeline. To celebrate, I bought the staff and volunteers dilly bars yesterday. Someone made a crack that I hadn’t waited to be recognized but went ahead and threw my own party. Yeah?! I don’t need someone else to honor my achievements. I usually make time to bask in a milestone. So, I treated myself to a butterscotch dilly bar. And sidenote, one of my summer cravings was satisfied.
Ten years is a long time! It’s an entire decade. NRS is my longest job stint since my first career position at Anthony Wayne Services, where I worked for 6 years.
There are many reasons I’ve stayed so long at NRS. First, I believe in the mission: to keep America’s runaway, homeless and at-risk youth safe and off the streets. The number of homeless youth is staggering. I remember how hard it was to be a teenager: the hormones, the acne, the awkwardness. Being a teen today is worse than ever. It’s not enough to have an embarrassing moment at school. Now, the mistake is captured on someone’s phone and then posted and tweeted to the entire world. I’m thankful not to be growing up in this technological era of exposure. Kids have it rougher. And then they run and find themselves in even more uncertain and often dangerous situations. My work is dedicated to ensuring they have support 24/7 by calling, clicking or texting.
I also enjoy working with my boss, my team and the entire staff to support the mission. If you don’t like your boss and/or your co-workers, the 40 hours/week can become insurmountable. That is not my burden…thankfully! I relish in the passion and creativity of my co-workers. Sure, there is a stinker or 3 but overall the crew is a dynamic tour de force.
And maybe most importantly for me personally is the work continues to change. I’ve found challenges to take on. I couldn’t have done the exact same thing for ten years. I’d get bored. New ideas have continued to cross my path. And I’ve been able to actualize many different initiatives to position NRS for optimal functioning. My current quest is to move the agency to a more adequate facility. I call it my legacy move.
It’s hard to imagine I will be at NRS for another ten to twenty years. I’ve grappled with the idea of becoming Executive Director after Maureen retires in two years. I don’t know. There is good and bad in internal advancement. I’d see every issue through a decade+ of experience. That could be considered wise or stagnant depending. A brand new person could bring new energy and ideas which might lead the agency in a different and more beneficial direction.
Where do I go from here? As much as I love change, a career move is slightly scary to me. I’m 50. When I move on, I should evaluate the employer for retirement benefits. The 2 years here, 2 years there of the first half of my career isn’t the right kind of pattern for a gal heading towards her sixties. I need stability. Who hires 62 year olds? I should consider the next job as a permanent placement. That’s such a mind-blowing concept. My head hurts contemplating it.
Well, it’s Saturday. I don’t need to make any decision today about what I’ll do with the rest of my life. I can just bask in a decade of service to NRS. I’ve accomplished something!