This
morning I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and immediately picked up my phone (that sits
next to my head all night). I quickly scrolled through Instagram, Twitter, and
Facebook to catch up on all the excitement that happened on social media in the
eight hours since I checked it last. I then rolled myself out of bed, glanced
down at the four blankets on my bed twisted into one big spherical knot, opted
not to do anything about it, and walked across the hall to the bathroom. Once
there, I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put in my contacts, did my hair, and
so on. After I was groomed and ready to take on the world, I made my way to the
kitchen.
The
kitchen is where every day really begins. That is, the kitchen is where coffee
is made. In my standard fashion, I filled up the Kuerig and put in a cup of
Folgers Black Silk. While I waited on
my coffee to magically dispense into the mug I had placed under the Kuerig, I
located my Ipad and sat down at the kitchen table. It was there that I began
the never ending chore of checking all five of my email accounts. Normally,
Derek would join me for this part of my routine—making his own cup of coffee.
On this day though, Derek was still in bed appearing to be deathly ill. So, I
sat alone at the kitchen table this morning. Once I had finished checking my
emails I began scrolling through all my news outlets. I skimmed through the New
York Times, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, and Forbes. Then I quickly looked at
capital markets around the world, and thus concluded my morning news reading.
With
coffee drinking, news reading, and email checking out of the way, I could now
begin work on everything else. The first thing I wanted to accomplish this
morning was nailing down which stories I wanted to use in my speech for
upcoming banquets. In need of some inspiration, I grabbed my notebook and
headed into the woods here at the leadership center. It was a beautiful day:
warm, sun shining. For a while I just
sat on top of the dam and took in the beauty of the still frozen lake. Then, I
headed down the dam into the leafless woods below. Eventually I found a fallen
tree that was lying across a small stream, and I took a seat on it with my legs
dangling above the water. It was to the murmur of running water and in the
company of sun soaked trees that I brainstormed and wrote out the stories and
points I might use. Once I was satisfied with what I had written I packed up my
notebook and trekked back to the state officer house.
Once
I made it back to the house it was about noon so I located some pizza rolls in
the freezer and threw them into the microwave for lunch. This time I was joined
by both Skylar and Derek, both of whom were also eating pizza rolls. While
eating at the kitchen table the three of us scrolled through our social media
feeds, occasionally stopping to show the others a cat video or a cool picture
someone had posted. Lunch could only last so long though, and it was soon back
to work.
Back
to work is often a loosely interpreted concept, however, and Derek—sick as he
was—decided that laying on the living room floor might alieve his ailment. Not
being one to abandon a friend in a time of strife, I also laid down on the
living room floor and proceeded to stare up at the ceiling for the next few
minutes. This was productive staring, mind you, because I was all the while
brainstorming what I might do for the Friday night activity at the upcoming
LDW.
The girls holding down Brittany to write on her face |
Not
long after I left the floor we had a meeting with Mr. Martin at the long conference
table in our living room. It was an exceedingly productive meeting that lasted
some forty-five minutes. It was about an hour after the meeting had begun that
I had to sit back at my vantage point at one end of the table and take note of
my surroundings. Mr. Martin was at the other end of the table having a
conversation with Derek. Skylar and Lindsey were on the other side of Derek,
having their own conversation that I was more or less a part of. On the other
side of the table Kathleen had gotten up and was holding Brittany down while
Dakota was writing on Brittany’s forehead with an ink pen. Needless to say,
Brittany was not fond of having her head written on, thus the need for Kathleen
to restrain her. As I sat there taking in all that was going on around me, the
thought that this is not so uncommon amused me. I also realized that most
members probably have no idea what this, a normal day as a state officer, is
like.
The sun setting over the lake |
With
my newly conceived idea evolving in my mind, I left at the end of the meeting
and began writing this very blog post. I worked on it for the better part of
the afternoon, and at this moment I am finishing it while sitting on the dam
watching the sun set over the lake. Tonight my teammates and I will probably
watch a movie together, and make more pizza rolls or mozzarella sticks, and
another incredibly blessed day as a state officer will conclude.
As a
state officer we spend a lot of time on the road. We spend a lot of time giving
speeches, and presenting workshops, and visiting chapters and businesses. But,
some days we don’t. Some days are spent in the house working on whatever event
is on the horizon. And while no day as a state officer is normal, these are the
days we have learned to call “normal” ones. So I hope that through this rather
long post, I have provided you at least a glimpse of a day in the life.
Jacob Mueller
Indiana FFA Southern Region Vice President
No comments:
Post a Comment