"Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” - Henry Van Dyke

Today, I’m thinking about some things that have made me feel happy and grateful about the work I’ve done in my career. These thoughts seem to focus most on the way my work has allowed our family to have the life we have, on my gratitude to have worked with good people, and on the opportunity work has given me to make a difference. I’m also very grateful for the things I’ve learned about how we can work together to make a difference in the world around us.

My deepest gratitude is for the chance to do useful work that has allow our family to have such a good life. We have all we need, and more besides. We can take time to travel and relax. We’ve been able to help our sons get a good start in life, and we enjoy close relationships with family and friends. We live in a beautiful place and we are healthy and happy.

I’m so happy to have a wonderful partner to share the work of caring for our family. She is the best part of my luck and I know her loving guidance, and their own fine characters, are the most important reason our sons have grown to be fine, caring, men. I so admire the work she has done to make a difference for children, as a teacher, and a volunteer for the National Park Service, and appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to support her in that work. Most of all, I am grateful to be so very happy with my darling Sue. Together, we’ve made a wonderful life.

I’m grateful for the people I’ve worked with in county government, in banking, higher education, and as a volunteer at SHARE. I’ve been fortunate to work with so many hard-working, intelligent people of good character who really care about how our work helps others. In each of these spheres, the way the work matters is different, but in the end doing our work well and for the right reasons allowed us to make a difference for those we served, and for each other. In the process, I’ve found some great friends, and my wife and I have made some special friendships that will last a lifetime.

I’m also very grateful for the the people I’ve worked for in my career. With very few exceptions, they’ve taught me, challenged me, and helped me grow. They’ve supported and advocated for the work we needed to do together and helped me learn to do the same for those who’ve worked for me. They have taught me so much and I've strived to honor their example.

I’m especially grateful, and happy, to have had the opportunity to serve the people we’ve really worked for, and for how we’ve worked to make a difference. At the county, we served the citizens in myriad different ways by helping deliver the services they needed. In banking, we worked to help people save and invest for their futures, and to keep their money safe and ready to work for them. Most satisfying of all, was the work we’ve done for the students at our university. Watching them grow and move on to pursue their lives is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in my career.

Making a difference matters even when we won’t really know exactly how our work has helped others. As I walked through the halls of one of our science buildings earlier this fall, and across campus back to my office, I was struck again by an awareness of our students and the potential they represent. I walked past their smiling, worried, sometimes preoccupied faces and made eye contact when I could to share a smile. I found myself wondering what their futures will bring and what difference each will make in my lifetime and beyond.

I realized that I was looking at people who might help cure cancer, help save our planet, bring new creative expressions to life, and help us understand one another better. I also saw them as individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses, confidence and insecurity, hope, fear, and love. I wish them well and I’d have them know that they gave me hope on that sunny day and that I am proud of them and what they do at our university.

I’m happy to have learned some wonderful things in my career about working with others. Thanks to the opportunities I’ve had, I’ve learned so much about collaborating together to allow us each to apply our skills, experience and creativity. I’ve learned about leading and serving others. I’ve learned that the opportunity to make a difference is a great gift.

Perhaps one of the things I am most grateful for that my career has helped me earn is time. While I’ve worked, this has been time on weekends, holidays, and vacations. As I retire, my work will have earned me a new kind of time. Choosing how I spend this time will be one of my greatest opportunities in retirement. I will be grateful always for the gift of time for family, and for friends. Time to travel, and walk in nature. Time to think, and to visit, and to sit quietly with my loved ones. Time to laugh, and love, and live. I have so much to be grateful for.