Checking in briefly

Good evening all!

I'm checking in quickly from my hotel room in Herndon, Virginia, where I'm at my company's... well... former headquarters, before we were purchased a couple weeks ago. Thursday is our monthly program review, so today and tomorrow I spend helping the managers prepare to present their financial and operational performance for the last month to the program manager and to the executives. This will be my last monthly program review in person for several months, what with the shoulder surgery and all. As much as I like to complain about the three days in a conference room surrounded by (male) managers who talk in manager-speak about things like "leveraging attrition" and "could we Pareto that?" and "operational performance metrics," I really do enjoy the opportunities to travel up here and participate in these reviews. I have learned a lot from them, and have really felt much more a part of the broader team and of the company since I started coming up in March.

As of Sunday afternoon, I was completely unpacked. And by completely unpacked, I mean that everything I intended to unpack has been unpacked. :-) There are four boxes of books in my closet that I don't have the shelf space for, and two boxes of winter clothes that I'm just not bothering to take out for a few months yet. When it's 90 degrees out, I'm just not in the mood to unpack sweaters and wool coats and gloves and scarves and hats - go figure! I bruise really easily, so now I have a gorgeous collection of bruises all up and down my arms and legs. I even found two on my belly - how does one bruise one's belly without knowing it? It boggles my mind. But I feel very satisfying about all of this. My daughter was an incredible help over the weekend, and a really sweet lady from the choir kept me from completely freaking out Friday night. When I thank her for coming over to be with us, she keeps saying, "But I really didn't do anything!" And I tell her she has no idea how much she really did for me. Sometimes quiet companionship means more than all the activity in the world.

Blogging will probably be light over the next ten days or so, as I'll be busy in these meetings, and then will be ON VACATION starting on Friday. Woo hoo!!!!! But I'll try to post for Poetry Thursday and Friday Five. I'll be on email at least once a day, so if you want to drop me a line, feel free. In the meantime, be at peace, and know how very, very much you are loved.

Blessings and hugs,
Hedwyg