I have felt:
overwhelmed
disappointed
excited
contemplative
worn out
happy
confused
relaxed
In the past few weeks:
I have seen and met people from all over the country and some from other countries.
I've eaten falafel for the first time.
I've arrived home from business travel after 2 a.m.
I've been concerned about my son's bout
with bronchitis and pneumonia.
I've ran a 5K.
I've anticipated my daughter's first day of high school
and my son's last first day of school.
I've helped my husband navigate a job change decision.
I've come to some professional realities.
I received the news I did not win a writing contest I entered.
Perhaps you'd like to keep reading, and get the full play-by-play, so to speak. Perhaps not........
Saturday and Sunday
A few Saturdays ago, three of our family headed north to watch the fourth member perform in a classical guitar concert at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. While in Cincinnati, my husband, daughter and I were able to tour a neighborhood I'd researched - Over the Rhine. We walked through a park on Saturday afternoon [eliciting that lovely Chicago song] and wandered a few of the neighborhood's streets. As I mentioned in a previous entry, Cincinnati is a much.much.much larger city than our hometown of Lexington. It's a different type of city than Lexington [river city, mid-western city, lots and lots of bricks].
Back to the point of our visit........The participants in the concert consisted of music professors, professional classical guitarists, advanced students, as well as novices. Our son performed a solo on Saturday, and he was, as to be expected, nervous to play in front of such acclaimed people in the classical guitar world. The week long workshop ended Sunday afternoon.
Monday
The next day, both our children began high school marching band camp. The fourth and last year for the boy. The first year for the girl. Band camp marks the beginning of the busiest season of the year in our home. High school marching band [in case you didn't know] is an almost all consuming activity that affects all members of the household.
Tuesday
One of my work supervisors asked me if I could arrange my schedule in order to accomodate our organization's need for me to attend a conference in Washington D.C. [next week]. Mind you, I've not done any business travel in over two years. And I knew very little about what the conference was focusing on.
Wednesday
I agreed to attend the conference, and began making arrangements accordingly.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
I honestly can't remember that well, at this point.
Sunday
I celebrated my 44th birthday with my family, enjoying homemade grilled pizza and a chocolate ice cream pie.
Monday
I worked a full day, then headed to Washington D.C. Unfortunately, the scheduled flight to Charlotte was late, and I and my co-traveling co-workers missed our connection. We ended up spending the night in Charlotte, thankfully in a rather nice hotel. Kindly, my co-workers rang in my birthday at midnight Tuesday morning, before we called it a night. Unfortunately, our checked bags went on to Washington ahead of us, leaving me with less than the usual hygiene products I generally utilize. I should also mention I didn't have a change of clothes with me. Or make up.
Tuesday
The day started before the sun rose, with an early flight to Washington. Actually, due to the late night before, Tuesday had already started. This was my "official" birthday, and I spent it with hundreds of fellow federal grantees, joining some fellow Kentuckian federal grantees for dinner. The dinner company included an unfortunate man who had an abscessed tooth, making me unsure as to whether "What the hell?" is something he says frequently or if it was the pain talking.........
Wednesday
The conference continued. I thoroughly enjoyed some alone time Wednesday evening, sitting by the hotel pool, then walking down Connecticut Avenue. I ate dinner on the patio at Zorba's. [If you click on the link, I sat in the same place as the lady on the right with the dark hair/blue shirt.]
Thursday
The conference concluded and the return trip home began. My co-workers and I had some free time that afternoon, and were able to see the MLK Jr. Memorial.
Then we began the trek home. Which, like the trip to Washington D.C., did not go as planned. But we did have a nice airport convo with a beer drinking Mormon whose husband is an MMA fighter. And I met a business traveling woman from Austin who takes her 6 month old along for a day of meetings in Washington. Apparently she hires a baby sitter for the day. Definitely a different life than the one I'm living. But interesting, nonetheless. [Incidentally, I think the word nonetheless is cool, because it's 3 words in 1!]
Friday
I slept walked through most of the day, enjoying a band parent picnic in the evening. And somewhere during the course of the daylight hours I made potato salad. I awoke sometime in the wee hours of the morning stressed out. Is that normal?
Saturday
Our family caught the new Bourne movie [don't judge me, but I prefer the new guy to Matt Damon]. Then.... Saturday night [along with 6000 other people] we ran the race. The 5K we prepped all summer for. AKA A Midsummer Night's Run.
Sunday
I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. But we had a nice family day together. And we went to Trader Joe's. And the farmer's market. Which are generally highlights for me. And they didn't disappoint. And most importantly, I came to the realization that I should not let my own selfish pride get in the way of my own daughter's good. I'll probably report more on that at a later date. Oh, one more thing....a young lady that my daughter believes 'hung the moon' released a youtube video featuring her shopping trip to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Now Allie believes it might just be okay to join the rest of the fam in thrift store shopping [a major break through].
Monday
Another week began.......the school year will soon start, we'll grow older, and life will continue.
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