Change is good

On Friday I was part of TBS's Shabbat HaLimud, an annual service honoring those who work with temple youth from pre-school through grade 12. That's when it hit me - This is my last Shabbat service with "my" kids and in my current role. The thought surfaced thanks to handfuls of people who actually said it out loud to me "you know this is your last Shabbat service?" That made the stomach do a few flips.

I think it's pretty clear that I love being at TBS - my kids, their parents, our staff and their dedication to Judaism, but as this entry's title says, change is good. Change in this case, that is just starting to become real, just starting to become stressful, with the lists of things to do before I head out, change that will take me out of my current comfort zone, and in to a different and new one. I thought at the start of this transition period that I would be the one psyching myself up, I would be the one forcing myself to come to the realization that one chapter is over - and I was wrong. It's been those around me, who thank god, have helped me by actually verbalizing that I am making huge change, I am doing something that I love, and that I should do it now, because now is the time. That made the stomach do a few flips.
So change is good. It's even better when you make a change knowing that you've left a particular place, or moment, in a better place than when you began. I guess that all came to a full realization for me on Friday night as well. I was asked up to the bima by Rabbi Todd, and at that moment, when he called my name, cheers erupted from the 100 plus people in attendance. Cheers? For me? Heck, I'm just Nate. I love what I do, I love my kids, and I love being Jewish. Cheers? I guess so. For that, I am forever grateful. For the people I am forever grateful, for the kids, I am forever grateful and even moreso for the experiences, both good, and not so great, I am forever grateful.

Peace love and dirt
Nathan