7/9/2025
There is this fascination with with travel. Seeing new scenery for the first time, or seeing it again. Realizing that the world is big. Realizing what we like about somewhere else and realizing what we love about home.
The everyday is important. The never-ending work just to maintain, not to mention to move forward, can easily make the grass on the other side of the fence look greener than it is. Seeing progress from work day in and day out in the same direction and in the same place is good. However, there is also good in being untethered from the everyday.
We are leaving today to drive across the country to our Cru National Staff Conference. It’s in Milwaukee again this year. It’s our first National Staff Conference in three years. I am hoping it will move back to every other year. I am not hoping it will continue to be in Milwaukee. Twice seems like plenty.
Now, I expect to enjoy the drive and all again this year. But we did get spoiled to gathering on the CSU campus every other year for many, many years. That afforded a different sense of “togetherness” with other staff families that just wasn’t there three years ago. Maybe it will be better in that regard this year.
I enjoy connecting with staff from other parts of the country who are on a similar journey as we are more than the content. The training is helpful, but I don’t think we don’t need to be all together for that. That could happen regionally. And connecting happens around a table way better than in an arena. At least, that’s my opinion. But I do think there is value in all of us US staff being in the same place together.
And I do love to travel. I love seeing the road stretch out ahead, open, inviting. There is the sense of opportunity and and that dreams are possible. We need the excitement that comes when we aren’t tethered to routine.