A Door with No Name

A few months ago, I walked into Emmanuel College (Toronto) with my usual pondering if I would find Dr. Phyllis Airhart in her office. However, this time it was different. Her name was gone off the door and her office was empty. 
 
And, at that moment, I had an epiphany on two related fronts.

First, for twenty-seven years the office of my doctoral supervisor Phyllis Airhart had been a destination for direction, critique, encouragement, and – after I graduated and became less of a student and more of a fellow historian – a sense of collegiality.
 
Almost every time I walked downtown Toronto to various archives, I would swing through Emmanuel College to see if Phyllis was in her office. She did not know it, but it was a bit of a mecca for me to see the college halls and especially her door, a warm memory of my student days and her excellent supervision. 
 
It took me close to two decades to get the courage or confidence to call her by her first name – in fact, it still feels strange – for Phyllis was the standard by which I measure my work. Do I research like her? Do I supervise like her? Do I exhibit kindness and humility like her?
 
While a quarter-century era has ended, fortunately I still see Phyllis at conferences. She continues to be an active and excellent scholar. And for that I remain thankful. But even with that being the case, an era for me was over.
 
Second, I immediately thought of my own office at McMaster Divinity College (MDC) and how it too will one day have my door’s name plate removed. 
 
I have been a professor for twenty-five years, twenty of those at MDC. And looking at the door with no name I realized just how quickly time flies, and how eras come and go. That reality should not be a surprise for someone who spends his life studying the passage of time, but I was nonetheless poignantly aware of my own finiteness. 
 
So, what have I decided to do with my epiphany? 
 
I have sought to be thankful for the privilege of being a professor while I still have a door with a name. 
 
I have committed to making sure to use the time that remains to be worthy of the calling of a professor. 
 
And I have also started to plan for the day when my door has no name.