Once Upon a Quarter

My first job out of college was working for the youth ministry at my home church. Part of my job as the administrative assistant for the Sr. High group was to keep track of our department budget and make sure we weren’t overspending. Being as about as financially and math savvy as a squirrel, this part of my role intimidated me, but I tried to suck it up and keep track as best I could.

At one meeting with my boss man, the youth pastor, he mentioned that he wanted me to print out our current financial status on a quarterly basis so that we could review the figures together. Already feeling flustered by the budget analysis, and remaining true to my blond roots, I replied, “Right. Can you define quarterly?”

Matt blinked at me for a second, then responded, “Every three months.”

Desperately trying to save face, I said, “Oh, yeah” and left his office not too long afterwards.

A few days later, once I realized just how stupid I’d sounded, I reminded Matt of this incident and he burst out laughing. He admitted that he’d desperately wanted to laugh at the time, but didn’t want to offend me because he could tell I was serious. This remains a favorite joke for us to toss at each other from time to time, though I still blush at the memory.