Getting Back in the Saddle

Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on 10 Oct 2007 at 12:57 pm

Well, here I am riding in a train on the way up to Portland, Maine.  I will be attending the 15th annual State Policy Network conference on behalf of my employer, ClearWord Communications Group.

Typing is a bit difficult — the train is bumpy — but then again, I can blog!  Airplanes don’t allow for such connection to the world.  Rather, one is stuck in a metal cylinder with wings, hoping they won’t fall off, with hundreds of other passengers.  But here on the train, I am looking out the window at the river just north of Baltimore — a river that would have been at best a blue line from 30,000 feet.  And the farther north I get the more I will see the leaves on the trees change, until I finally hit Portland in the peak of autumn glory!  Yes, the bumps and longer ride are well worth it.

This blog entry should represent the beginning of getting back to normal blogging practice here at the Borg Blog.  This means that starting later today the Borg Blog News Service will be back in business, and this Sabbath the Lord’s Day Meditations will recommence.  And I should, once again, have a post or two on most days.  I suspect that my blogging won’t be quite as ambitious as it was this summer, though, just because I am so much busier — and in a good way.

To catch Borg Blog readers up, in mid-September I left the American Civil Rights Union after 6 mos.  The reason was simply a difference of opinion on a key constitutional issue related to the mission of the organization.  And since I was a spokesman of sorts, being the director of development and in charge of outreach to our high dollar donors, I determined that I could not continue on in good conscience.  In fundraising, you are only as good as you believe and are passionate for the cause in which you are raising money.  At least, that is true for me.  The issue was the constitutionality of the war on Iraq, which I deny.  I alluded to this disagreement in this brief post.  So, while I still appreciate the ACRU’s efforts to protect freedom of association and religious liberty from the ACLU’s persistent onslaught on these rights, being a consistent constitutionalist I determined it was best for both me and the organization to part ways.

I am now into my fourth week working for ClearWord.  As we say on our website, our “primary goal is to provide high quality, effective direct response fundraising programs to a select clientele…. And we only work for organizations with missions we’re passionate about.”  The organizations we assist are some of the most effective groups in the conservative movement:  Leadership Institute, National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), SPN, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Commonwealth Foundation, Alliance for Marriage, Media Research Center, Competitive Enterprise Institute, James Madison Institute, Buckeye Institute, and CFACT.  We also serve the premier organization for educating students and teachers about the Constitution: The Bill of Rights Institute.  Many more are on the way, though not official yet. 

The clients I have been assigned and am working most closely with at the moment are NCPPR and Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania free market think tank, though I assist with many other projects and will have more clients assigned to me in the coming weeks and months.

And here’s the major bonus:  I am working at home!  Bonnie and I share office space in our sunroom — and so far it is working out great.  Matter of fact, here is my normal work day: 

6:30AM — wake up; catch up on news and begin work
7:15AM — kids wake up
7:45AM — breakfast with whole family
8:30AM — walk Samuel and Maggie to school, with Bonnie and Rachel, in time for 8:45 start.  Big hugs and good wishes for a great day at school
9:00AM — resume work with a cup of freshly ground and brewed coffee at my left hand
10:00AM — kiss Rachel “bye-bye” as Bonnie takes her up for her nap
11:30AM- Bonnie wakes up Rachel, then we walk to school to pick Maggie up from her Butterflies pre-school class
12:00PM — lunch with all my girls
12:30PM — resume work
1:25PM- walk to school to pick up Samuel from his Rainbows pre-school class
2:00PM — resume work
3:00PM — kiss Maggie and Rachel “bye-bye” as Bonnie puts them down for their afternoon nap
5:30PM — complete work for the day and help get kids and table ready for dinner

Not bad, eh?!  I do have to head in town on occasion to meet with clients, but even here I can avoid rush-hour traffic.  And on Wednesdays Samuel has a half-hour soccer clinic in the afternoon that I take him to (except today, as I am travelling).  I could never do so before.  And on Thursday we put Maggie in “extended day” so she has lunch at school and we don’t pick her up until we get Samuel.  Which means either more quiet time to get work done or, as Bonnie and I have done once now, a lunch date without the two older kids.

I am most blessed, and I thank my Lord for his abundant mercies and grace, which He showers on me new every morning and every day.

Anyway, now you are all caught up.  My apologies for the relative lack of activity at the Borg Blog these past six weeks as I’ve gone through this time of transition.  For those who have persevered with me and have checked in from time to time, I thank you for your interest and encouragement. 

© 2004-2008 Eric F. Langborgh