Back In The Saddle

It would seem that God has spent the last year forcing me into a mid-life crisis. I always said that I would never be one of those people, and I suppose that would be true, if I didn't try (and often fail) to be open to change and possibilities.  Let me bring you up to speed.

After I finished my last Camino with students in 2016 I came back home and got back into my regular routine.  May 2017 marked my 10th year as Controller and July 2017 was my 40th birthday so I was beginning to feel a bit...restless.  My boss, Paul Lasiter, took an overseas assignment with Pepperdine that summer in our London program so it was my job to hold the fort at home from May to July.  My best friend, Bryan Scott, and I decided to walk part of the Camino in July for our 40th birthdays: we planned to walk from St. Jean to Pamplona and then train to Astorga and walk into Santiago from there.  So, it was shaping up to be an interesting summer.

Probably no surprise, it did turn out to be interesting but not in the way planned.  Paul went to London and all went well at work, thankfully. Bryan and I went to Spain, and as I have often remind people, everyone does the Camino their own way, and every Camino is unique.  Bryan and I did not train as much as we should, and thus we had to rethink our Camino a bit.  We still got to spend two weeks together, which I would not trade for the world, but there was a bit less walking than we originally planned.

I returned from Spain wondering what was next.  I should have kept my thoughts to myself.  Paul came back to work in August and announced he would be resigning as CFO to try some new and different things, so I stepped in to an interim CFO role while we conducted a search for a new permanent CFO.  This included rolling out a new budget process, all the usual board meeting stuff and getting approval and issuing new debt for the University...in the midst of the largest tax reform in 30 years.  I acquitted myself incredibly well, but ultimately did not get the promotion.  It was clear to me that though I loved Pepperdine and it had been my home for many years, it was time to move on.

I have a number of amazing colleagues at JP Morgan and they convinced me that I might be worthy to be part of their team, so I also resigned at Pepperdine to begin what feels like my second career.  I was also able to arrange a three-week break between gigs, and I had planned to be in Spain, so Paul convinced me to walk yet another Camino, even though I had been feeling that with the crowds that have overtaken the Camino in the summers, I had not wanted to do another Camino.

But it's April, so here I am.  April brings a whole other set of challenges for walking even part if the Camino.  Northwestern Spain can still be quite cold in April, and in fact, we will deal with rain and snow almost the whole trip.  I've been training for less than two weeks.  And I may not have enough warm clothing.  But I am here, and it is good.  It seems like a good time to assess the last 20 years and to think about how I want my next 20 years to look.

Paul and I flew into Madrid and spent a few days with one of my best friends, Javi Araque.  Yesterday we took the train to Astorga, and this morning we set out to a little town called Foncebadón, near the highest point on the Camino.  It's about 16 miles, and we were nervous about the walking and the weather.  Fortunately, it was clear today, but cold - around 40 for most of the day.  The walking went well, but yes, everything hurts.  We're staying in an adorable bed and breakfast run by a couple, that is incredibly charming, with good food, laundry, and great Sangria.  We have met very few pilgrins...fewer than 20 today I would say.  But, the solitude has renewed my love for this journey.  We did chat with two Germans (who were stereotypically critical of everything) and one Australian (who was equally stereotypically gregarious) in our lodgings.  They seem like nice people, and are more or less on our schedule.

Tomorrow will be hard, with 16 miles downhill to Ponferrada, with sleet in the forecast, but for now I am content to be here, drinking sangria with my friend and wondering what the future will hold.