How cool would it be...

I find myself in meetings a lot. It's just a part of what I do. Industry focus groups, information sharing meetings, leadership workshops, board proceedings, classes...

Many times these start out with ice breakers that include a "tell us something most people might not know about you" kind of thing.

How cool would it be to say "I'm a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do"? I am hoping someday I can say that...

So what do you want to be when you grow up?

The perennial question asked by parents of their young - please, tell me with your full 8 years of existence on this planet how you want to spend the rest of your adult life. And the answers one gets are all at once full of hope and surprising. Ryan wants to be a NASCAR driver. Alex wants to be an "army man". To clarify and confirm, I responded, "So, you want to be a soldier, eh?"

Alex: "NO! I said army man."

Okayyyy.....

I was asked the other day that very same question at work...with a "due date" of January 2010. Surprising somewhat. I'm 40 after all, and have been in my field for almost 18 years. But January of next year marks a milestone in the project I'm working on so I'm guessing this individual wants to know what is next for me. And I realized I don't know...are they wondering what they will do with me??? I've been so focused on the goals and strategies I've laid out for this year to dig our program out of a perceived hole (it's why I was brought to the company last March), that I've thought of nothing beyond. It's a bit unsettling. I'm used to "fixing" now, having built my career over the last several years on recovery.

So I guess I need to figure out what my next coup d'etat will entail...

Photo Shoot

We did a little photo shoot of the boys so Grammie could finish her grandbaby gallery in her new room. I was pretty pleased at how they turned out, here are some of my favorites that I think truly capture the essence of my little guys.

Sweetness

There are days when you are really on top of your game - you say all the right things, you get all the right people to agree, and you're pinging on all 8. Yesterday was NOT one of those days. And the wallowing began. It was short lived though, especially after a better night's sleep than the night before. And some good news from my first home (M - so glad your doc appt turned out well) and from my second home (Amy & Curt - we're praying for CJ's recovery). Tonight sealed the deal. I witnessed one of those moments that warms my heart. Ryan went to Alex's room and had Alex on his lap, while Alex read to him. It was the sweetest thing ever. It cracks me up, one minute they're at each other's throats, and then something like this. Just throws me for a loop. But I love it.