Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
– Winston Churchill

Well, based on that quote, my life is going to see a lot of improvement toward perfection over the coming months. My life is going to see lots of change approaching quickly, so I thought I would share some snippets of my life outside of gaming and freelancing for you.

Announced officially this morning, I will be moving into a new role in my career at Taylor University. My new position will be as Director of Academic Technology / Associate CIO, starting on June 1 with some transition between April 1 & June 1. New leadership responsibilities, new strategies and tactics, a new team reporting to me, moving to a new office in a different building, and building new relationships throughout the university. I am honored to be offered this opportunity and passionate about this new role. Excited that it has been officially announced so I can start the conversations and building those relationships.

Following close after in early June, my twin daughters will be graduating from high school. Really? My daughters are seniors this year. Wow, time has passed quickly, and I have loved every year of it. I am so proud of the amazing young women they have become. Late August, we will be moving then into the residence halls at Taylor University to start college. We are busy planning senior pictures, practicing for their final school musical, attending our final band concerts, planning graduation parties, looking forward to the senior prom, and preparing for college. Such a whirlwind of activity, then suddenly we will have a house empty of children.

That means in September, after the girls have started college, Angie and I will be home alone. Which also means, I will be the single caregiver at home for my wife. Emily and Rachel have been heartfelt partners with responsibilities at home and caregiving for their mom, but it is time for them to step out and find their own paths in life. That means additional responsibilities for me at home to balance with my new role at work. Angie and I are already talking about ways to simplify our lives and to seek some outside assistance (with lawn care and such) to reduce my responsiblities to manageable levels. Through prayer, patience, and prioritization, we will find a new rhythm in our daily lives that works for us.

For my hobbies and my freelancing, this will mean I have to be more flexible and realistic with my available time. I will continue to game and work as a freelancer, but I will be careful with my scheduling and honest with my gaming friends and publishers about my availability. Quality over quantity will be a focus in the coming years.

So there is a little look behind the curtains of my life. I will appreciate prayers and patience as I experience these changes and find my new directions and patterns at work and home.