The Shafferland Shuffle

What a HUGE week in Shafferland!! Grab your hat, and let's go!

* Last Sunday was Father's Day, which of course meant the big Poppapalooza with Ryan's parents! They hosted a fun cookout at their house, and I think there were about 50 people there. We had fun eating, talking to all the cousins and aunts and uncles, and watching the kids chase each other around the yard. My parents joined in for part of the time, and it was just a lovely day, all the way around. With all the maddening rain we've had in the last 3 weeks, it was also delightful to have a beautiful, sunny day for this adventure!

* Monday was my LAST Monday at work! I moved into the back seat for engineering to let PeggySue take over as much as she could...all part of the training! I had to say goodbye to the first of my co-workers that day, because she had a few days off and wouldn't be there for my last day. I hate goodbyes!!! That afternoon I had a great surprise when Ryan's brother and his family stopped by the station to see where I worked and what I do. It was fun to let the kids record some stuff and to let them try their hand at radio!

* Tuesday I spent the day training from the counter across the room...slowly inching my way away from the desk so she could get a better feel for the job. It was a pretty uneventful day, but it was also a PRETTY day, which meant that evening, Ryan and I got to take a walk through campus - the first walk we've been able to take FOREVER {thank you, endless rain}.

* Wednesday, my dear co-worker Doris gave me the most perfect going-away gift. This coffee mug!! :) Isn't it so me!!?!?! It was a bittersweet day as I recorded my last promo with Lynne - for our last BLT show. And I said goodbye to one more co-worker...Scott. I think sometimes I made him just shake his head and laugh, but he's been a good friend and taught me so much about radio!

* Thursday was a tough one! My very last BLT ever. Ryan and my parents came to the studio for it, and it was a joy to have them all there. The station threw me a very nice party, and it was just a lovely, affirming day, but oh my goodness. SO. MANY. TEARS. Have I mentioned how I hate goodbyes???

* Friday was the end of an era. My last day of work with WBCL. I actually cried less than I did on Thursday, but there were still some tears! My very last PB&J show with the morning guys, goodbyes to ALL the rest of the co-workers, and then...the start of a beautiful new season. Ryan gave me a beautiful gift for my transition...a piece of wall art with a verse from Proverbs 31 on it. And that evening, he asked how I wanted to celebrate, and I just wanted a low-key night at home to think, decompress, and be with Ryan. He brought home Chipotle and we just rested. I loved it.

* Yesterday, Ryan had to work, and the sky was teetering on the ominous side when he left. We proceeded to have rain, wind, sun, and everything in between throughout the day. Ohhhhh, Indiana. I worked feverishly on my way-too-behind scrapbook until he got home, and Braeya watched out the window for his return. When he got home we worked on assembling our home office to include the things I brought home from the station. I feel ready to begin working in it!

BLT: The Grand Finale

My head is still foggy from the emotion of yesterday, but what a beautiful grand finale to the BLT show that has been such a part of my life these last three years. I shared the hour {and the day} with people dear to my heart, and I wondered if it would be okay to share a photo tribute to the day....

Ryan came to work with me to be part of that final BLT. Here we are with Lynne right before the grand finale:

 I took him with me to the studio with the morning guys to be part of the next-to-the-last PB&J show. We had a lot of fun on that.

 Lynne and me at the start of BLT. We had both just cried our way through my Dad's prayer...so this is our this really is the end look.

 My dad sat in the studio with us. He gave his radio love to me...and I gave it to Ryan...and so the legacy continues.

 My mom sat in our office to listen. We tried to persuade her to join us in studio, but she needed her space, and that's okay too.

It appears this might have been DURING prayer. :)

 Ready!

 Radio looks good on him, doesn't it?

 Just a little opera selection. {Kidding. But it looks like that, doesn't it?}

 This show always brought me so many smiles. And though today there were also many tears...there were still many smiles.

Lynne offering wisdom...or practicing her whistling. I'm not sure which.

 Crying already!!

 Always the {fabulous} storyteller...

 Cracking ourselves up....

 Little disconcerting when the fire department showed up.

 {Turns out they were just taking a tour of the building.}

Showing Ryan a message someone texted.

 Listening to a caller...

 Such stories they told...I cried. A lot.

 It was a lovely hour. And all too soon, it was done.

You can hear it here if you missed it...

...and here's the day's crew. Lynne and PeggySue {the new producer} on the left, and me with Ryan and my parents on the right.

So grateful for the celebration of this day. For every call, every email, and every kind word offered on Facebook. A treasure.

From the Mind of Bekah

I just finished writing twenty letters...one to each of my co-workers...sharing things I've loved about working with them, things I appreciate about them, and saying my goodbyes in writing.

So essentially I have no mascara left.

On my eyes. I have plenty left in trails down my cheeks.

I made the mistake of reading my letters out loud to Ryan, who fortunately does not wear mascara, or he'd be in the same boat with the traily cheeks!

Not until I sat to write the letters did I realize just how many vivid memories I have of doing life with these people for the last four years, and just how tender my heart is as I think about walking away from them. Even though I'm almost the youngest person at the station, I am such a little mother hen with my friends. I need to know they'll be loved and taken care of in my absence.

Today, I go to work with my letters in my bag, ready to distribute them. I go with my camera packed securely in my purse {well that's no different from any other day, to be truthful about it} so my friend Jeri can document my day, because this a big day.

It's my last BLT. And in fact....it's the last BLT. Last one ever. Lynne and I will take our places {with our Kleenex boxes} for the very last time together, open our mics, and laugh, talk, and no doubt cry profusely as we say our goodbyes as a team.

I am profoundly thankful that Ryan has the day off and will be sitting beside me, behind a mic of his own, sharing this last show with me. I wanted him there. Our journey as the Shaffers began in earnest in that building, behind those mics, and it seems only appropriate that he will be there for the last one.

And when the show ends, the mics are turned off, and my makeup is reapplied, we'll gather as a group for a party, which is one of my favorite things in life. I'm excited to celebrate with these people I love so much, and I'm excited Ryan and my parents get to be part of the celebration too.

If you're not busy and want to hear BLT live today, it will take place at 10 a.m. Eastern time, and you can stream it live here. Ryan is armed with funny stories to rescue Lynne and me if we start to melt down and are too incoherent to continue. {I kind of hope it happens once, because he gave me a preview of one of the stories last night, and it is HILARIOUS.}

Finishing Well

In 2012, I ran a 10K. Let my friend Jeri talk me into it, which was a questionable decision at best when it began, but it turned out to be a very good thing.

{I say that because Ryan became my trainer and then we sorta fell in love. Yeah, yeah, I'm that girl.}

When people find out you're running a race, they have all sorts of advice for you. And I was fine with that because I knew whatever is below absolutely NOTHING about running.

Those who had run races before told me things like, "Don't worry...running a race fills you with adrenaline. You'll get around all those runners and it will just push you to do a great job. And there are cheerleaders on the sidelines that will cheer you on...and when you get to the end, you'll feel a burst of energy and just power through."

Clearly these people had never actually met me. I presume the fear of being trampled by the masses in the gates behind me was what some people called "filled with adrenaline." I presumed the pleas to the Lord to not pass out in front of everyone lined up on the sidewalk clapping qualified as being empowered by the cheerleaders. And as for the burst of energy at the end? I'm not even sure knowing a cookie awaited me on the other side of the finish line could have been mistaken as a burst of energy.

The BIG thing they all failed to mention was the amount of HILLS in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It may look flat when you're driving a car, but inside of a race, I was certain that city had turned into the Smoky Mountains. By the time I got through the city, rounded the last corner and began to run around the baseball field toward the finish line...I didn't care about anything except surviving. My time...didn't matter. Impressing anyone with my form...I can't even finish that with a straight face.

And in some ways, finishing this last week of work feels a bit like that 10K would have felt for a real runner. I'm gasping for air {quite literally at times} as my heart and mind feels the stress of doing my very best to train PeggySue to take over my job.

I care. I care that she is able to learn all I can teach. I care that the transition goes as seamlessly as possible. I care that she's able to serve Lynne well and that Lynne's own job isn't slowed down any more than it has to be.

I wrote in my journal the other night that perhaps the reason some people don't finish well in whatever the task, is that they are just too exhausted. They get tired, and they quit. They lose sight of any sort of goals and only care about surviving the thing.

While I may have done that with the race, I don't want to do that with my job. I want to push through to the end with my eyes trained straight ahead {even if it's on a cookie!!}. I ache to finish well.

It's taking a toll on me. My body and mind scream for rest, and I know I just can't. Not just yet. If you're a praying person and can spare some time this week, I would humbly ask for your prayers as I finish this race that means so much to me. I want to do well. I want to make Lynne proud. I want to honor the Lord with my work.

Thanks, friends. You've listened to this transition for weeks, and I'm sure you're getting weary too. I appreciate you so much. Thanks for helping me through the last part.

The Shafferland Shuffle

* It's rained for what feels like forever here...but when I see all the gorgeous raindrops on the flowers, it makes the rain showers worth it. That was so fun to see first thing on Sunday when we got up. After church, we met Ryan's dad and step-mom for an early Father's Day lunch, and then we came home and took a lonnnnnnnng nap. All of us. {Because Braeya has such a hard life.} I rested the rest of the day, drinking coffee and finishing Kara Tippetts' book {which Ryan promptly started}!

* Monday was our new producer's first day, and it was also one of our busiest show days. She certainly got a trial by fire learning the ropes sort of by crash course alongside me. She was a trooper though and took notes and paid close attention to all her lists. Lynne and I took her out to lunch {BBQ}...and then in the afternoon, I did more training! I was so thankful for God's protection on the commute home, as things got pretty harrowing on the interstate. Low key night at home for the Shaffers...we were pooped.

* Tuesday the producer training continued, but in the afternoon, she and Lynne had to head out for their official photo shoot, so I stayed behind at work to catch up on paperwork {so she wouldn't get bogged down} and decided to enjoy her beautiful flowers while I worked. It was the first day of sunshine in days, so after work, we headed to the gym and then out to run {Ryan} and walk {me}. It was too hot for this girl to do an earnest run. And guess what I did for the first time ever that night? Made homemade granola. Won't lie: delicious. More than I even expected.

* Wednesday we had a surprise party at work for our dear Doris, who had a milestone birthday this week. She's not easy to surprise, so it was fun to pull that off! After work, Ryan and I scooted down to Indianapolis to attend a funeral calling for my friend Julie's grandpa. I always hate it when that's the sort of thing that lets me see my friends, but it was really good to see her anyway. And since we were down that way...seemed only fitting to have dinner at Red Robin!! :) When we got home, I threw together the candy shop pizza for Ryan's work carry-in on Thursday and fell in bed and went to SLEEP!

* Thursday, Ryan went to a memorial service for one of his co-workers who passed away this week. They wrote their favorite memories of him on rocks and got to share about them during the service. {I loved that idea!!} I spent a whole day in training and was so brain-tired driving home that I forgot the ONE ASSIGNMENT I had for that day. Put gas in my car. Ryan always does that for me, but we ran low on time without realizing I was low on fuel. Whoopsie! That light scared the puddin' outta me, but I made it home without incident. Also that day...our big timer crock pot cracked in half. SADNESS!!

* Friday, our new producer was out for the day, so I spent the day recording videos of how to do tasks, so she can keep having access to training even after I'm gone. I looked like a Life Alert operator, but I had such fun making them! After work, we ordered pizza and hunkered down on Mo for the evening, and Ryan worked on  helping me set up my new desk at home! {He had an old monitor from the pre-Bekah days that we found out we could hook up to my computer so I can have two screens like I've had for years at work!}

 * Yesterday we got up super early so I could work on our house, which was a mess, and Ryan drove to his parents' house to help them get ready for their Father's Day party. He got to play with chain saws, so he was a happy boy. We went to the funeral of one of Ryan's great-aunts, and then we went back to his parents' to help some more. {With a frappe stop in between, of course.} We didn't get home until after 10 and we still had to do a bunch of cooking. This has been one exhausting week!!