Four Years Later…
Some of you may have seen on our social media that I recently celebrated my four-year anniversary with CEPL. This moment caused me a lot of reflection and I had such a ‘there is no way that’s right’ type of thought process. While I am originally from Kansas City, Kansas, I moved to Washington state when I was 12 and remained there until I was 34. At the time I moved back to the Midwest, I had lived in Washington longer than I had in Kansas.
This was a major decision which necessitated quitting my job of roughly 12 years, making a budget to find a new house and a new job while packing up my entire life along with a dog and a cat. I hadn’t been back home for longer than a week at a time in years. Thankfully, my best friend moved cross country with me. Driving 1,660 miles with two dogs, a cat, your best friend and her dad is quite the endeavor. We stayed in one of my older brother’s unfinished basement for three months while we waited for the arduous process of selling a house long distance and buying a house to finish up. If you didn’t already feel close to your best friend of 15 years then sharing the same space for three months will either make or break you (we’re still friends!).
The week I celebrated my work anniversary I found myself very reflective on how I had changed and grown in this position. I’m the Client Services Director/Office Manager for Complete and while I have plenty of experience on the administrative side, law was not an area I had experienced. I enjoy my position a great deal, I enjoy connecting with people who reach out to discuss services. I like to be able to comfort them and make them feel better about engaging an attorney for the first time in a lot of cases. I like learning about their families and pets regardless of which attorney they see. I like sharing tidbits with their paralegals (most recently, a summer job at World’s of Fun) to help foster that connection. It is so incredibly difficult to hand over something which is stressing you out to a total stranger. I have grown as an individual with more empathy and understanding because I work to ease the anxiety people feel.
It’s with this work family that I’ve learned to set expectations and boundaries. I’ve created training plans for new employees and helped them understand the importance of patience (my favorite attribute). I’ve learned to set the tone for my work family and helped create an environment where people feel heard and secure. I have never really thought of myself as a role model in a professional setting. This year, it kind of hit me that I am. I am someone that others are looking for guidance and that my opinion matters. It’s been really eye opening honestly to recognize that. I am 100% one of those people who tend to brush off praise and thanks. I wouldn’t have had any of that growth without the love and support of these wonderful ladies (and Craig!). I would be a different person if I’d never made this move because every person I’ve interacted with as part of my job has helped me learn something. If you’re reading this, then you might be one of them!
I am just so grateful to be at a place where I am valued not only for my professional skills but also for myself as a person. The connections that I’ve made with this motley crew are ones I look forward to enjoying for years to come. After all, Polly isn’t going to be able to pry me out of here for years and years to come.
Sometimes the only thing you can do is close your eyes and jump.
