Happy 18th Birthday Kelsie Ann – Welcome to the first day of adulthood!

 

Good Morning Princess!

Not only is this your first day as a legal adult but today we are packed for the 1100 mile pilgrimage to Arizona State University, where you will embark on what I hope is an adventure you will treasure your whole life.  I’m confident you already knew that you wouldn’t slip out the front door without a handful of advice from the Mothership.

So here we go – the sooner we get through this the sooner we can hit the pool in Vegas (because of course it’s on the way to ASU) and celebrate your birthday!  It’s just a few things I’ve learned along the way – take them, leave them, come back to them when you need them.  I love you little one!

1)   Haters gonna hate, Likers gonna like, Lovers gonna love – The good news is you get to choose which of these groups take up space in your head and your heart.  I highly recommend the Likers and the Lovers.  Keeping it short, surround yourself with people that make you feel happy.

2)   It’s not all about you – Before you get your feathers ruffled, hear me out on this one.  Everyone has their own “stuff” that drives their decisions, behaviors and actions every day.  We all have bad days.  If someone upsets you try to spend a few minutes understanding what might be happening in their world.  If they are really just assholes, don’t spend your precious moments plotting revenge.  (see bullet #1)

3)   Use your powers for good - You are blessed to have beauty, brains and a giant family that loves you.  Find a way to pay it forward when you can. 

4)   Take a back road once in awhile.  I promise you these next 4 years are going to fly by.  Don’t forget to take some quiet time to reflect on the good stuff and figure out the not so good stuff when it shows up.

5)   Take care of yourself - I’m not going to give you a lecture about your body being a “temple” and all that crap.  But I will say, a strong body and a strong mind are the best gifts you can give yourself.  Plus spare body parts are truly difficult to come by :)

6)    You will be a different person in 10 years – It’s probably best if you don’t document EVERY detail of becoming an adult on the Internet.  **Remember I have eyes in the back of my head so I can actually see you rolling your eyes right now.

7)   Be fearless and avoid regret as much as possible - This doesn’t mean you should go jump out of an airplane without a chute.  It does mean you shouldn’t be afraid to take chances to get what you want.  If it doesn’t work out it’s called a lesson.  Lessons are great if we can learn from them.

8)   Love yourself first so you can then love others - It’s the only way it really works. Trust me on this one.

9)   Go Play! - Being an adult isn’t optional any more, but being a grown up sure is!

10) Call your Mom - Yes, this one is a bit shameless, but I love you and I’m going to miss you a lot.

Ok, I think that’s about it for now.  I did write some similar advice to your brother in 2011 – I think he secretly listened :)Here it is in case there are some nuggets in there for you too. http://momabird.blogspot.com/2011/05/things-i-would-say-to-my-just-graduated.html

My heart is bursting with pride at all you have already accomplished Kelsie Ann.  Get out there and make yourself a happy, happy, happy life!

XOXO,

Mom

 

How much postage for a letter to heaven?

Hi Sis,

It's really hard to believe it's been 20 years since you walked out my front door with a giant smile and said "see you next weekend for a party on the river".  We all know now that didn't happen.  Instead we spent labor day weekend trying to reconcile the irreconcilable and say good bye to you forever.  You were taken from our world far too soon.  All week I've been reflecting on all the things I haven't been able to tell you, show you, give you – 20 years is a long time and A LOT has happened.  Your memory and your presence are still felt in our family everyday so my sense of it all is that you already know. 

There is so much I would tell you, but if I only had 2 minutes this would be the highlight reel:

• Nine months almost to the day after we lost you, your first nephew Logan Christian Geddes was born.  I know you really wanted me to name him Logan Barry Geddes :) but if it makes you feel better most of our family calls him Logeybear. You can imagine how much he likes that at 19!  He's handsome, smart, funny and he loves his family as much as we love him.  His first year of college was a lot like ours….FUN.  We will just leave it at that.

• Two years later a tiny preemie with no hair but a TON of fight was born.  Your first (and so far only) niece arrived and in true Princess fashion took her first airplane ride the next day.  Two frightening weeks in the NICU and she was fully cooked and ready to take home.  If I didn't believe in reincarnation before, Kelsie Ann Geddes certainly makes a strong case for it.  Beautiful, smart, strong willed and adventurous with a pile of wavy blonde hair.  She will graduate from BHS this year, just like we did.  Why do I feel compelled to drop everything and do a "GO BULLDOGS!" cheer right now :)

You would love "Large Marge" the Party Barge!

• Our brother Erik has three high spirited and adorable boys! The "Wallace Boys" keep us all on our toes but are so much fun to be around.  Andrew is 13 and just started 7th grade, he's quiet and sweet, like Erik.  Christian is 11 and probably smarter than all of us – such an amazing soul who understands people better than most adults.  Greyson just turned three and is very much "the baby" of the family – completely adorable and destined to be a child actor.

• Our baby brother Brad (SWUMO) is almost 32!! He has a heart as big as anyone, even though he tries to act tough. 

• Our mother is an amazing Grandma (I know right?), I don't know what I would have done without her love and support the last twenty years.  Trust me, we've had our rocky moments but she is the glue that holds our family together for sure.  I can't even imagine what it takes to stay as strong as she has all these years.  She has been married for almost 17 years to an AWESOME dude – I think she might keep this one :)  You would love him – he's fun, patient, kind and most importantly he LOVES our entire family – warts and all

• You have a boat load (think cruise ship not jet boat) of friends and extended family that still miss you everyday.  Every time I go back to Baker someone shares a memory or a thought about you that makes me smile.  Jacki has a flower shop, so you routinely get fresh flowers :)  Forgive me for not visiting your grave more, it's just not where I feel your spirit since it seems like you are with me all the time.

Christy, you are far too loved to ever be forgotten.  You would be 41 this year – but don't worry, you have been forever memorialized at 21.  Saying we miss you doesn't even begin to cover it.  We were so lucky to have you in our lives and those happy memories will be with us until we see you again.

Love,

Amy

Things I would say to my just graduated, almost 18 year old son if I thought he was listening:

It’s been an exciting and chaotic few weeks around our house. This week my son, Logan C. Geddes (aka Gteen1) graduated from Borah High School. On Sunday he turns eighteen. We have both received a lot of “congrats – you did it!” sentiments. So why do I have this nagging feeling the hardest part for both of us lies ahead? As I begin the process of “letting go” I find myself wishing I could hypnotize him long enough to teach him so many things we only learn from experience. Still, a MOM can dream so here is my dream list of items I wish I could say without inducing a single eye-roll or and “I know Mom, you say that all the time.”

1. Every decision has consequences both intended and unintended. Spend time contemplating your decisions in direct correlation to how much (or how little) the impact to your life will be. Perhaps an example here would be appropriate: a decision to eat pizza pockets everyday may have long term consequences, but in the short term probably isn’t going to do major damage (and I’m hopeful you outgrow it☺) However, a decision to drive a post through your lip in the name of fashion has significant long-term consequences. (I’m sure there must be benefits as well, I just can’t think of any right now.) My point is – think it through – do a list of pros and cons – make your decision – accept both the benefits and consequences of your decisions. OWN IT.

2. Bullet number two is a close sibling to bullet number one – You alone are responsible for your success and happiness. People in your life can add happiness but NO ONE can MAKE you happy – the good news is NO ONE can MAKE you sad either, unless you let them. You can learn skills from people, from books and yes even from the Internet (*little known fact some of the stuff they put on there isn’t TRUE!) but you and you alone get to decide how to apply those skills in your life.

3. You are going to screw up thousands of times – and it’s OK. Call your DAD ☺ I’m kidding! (well, half kidding). The point is the only way to learn from your mistakes is to make them. Don’t be so afraid of failure that you don’t try. No one I know has died of embarrassment, humiliation or failure. In fact, I think those experiences are some of our greatest learning opportunities. PS – this rule does not apply to stupid mistakes like jumping off cliffs or driving without a seat belt – those you actually can die from.

4. The early bird REALLY does get the worm. (if you weren’t asleep in your room at noon right now you would be rolling your eyes.) Let me see if I can put this into words that you can relate to…”If you ain’t first, you’re last!” (Ricky Bobby) – Ok, that’s an extremely exaggerated way for me to suggest that you do your best at everything you do – school, work, relationships…all of it. If you believe you can half ass it just to get it done - save your energy for something you have enough passion for to do right. If you are doing something you don’t care about, it will show. If you are doing something you do care about, it will show. **Note this advice is in NO way intended to mean you won’t ever have to do work you don’t love – view that work as purpose driven experience. (When that doesn’t work, try to remember I sweated my way through college in a polyester uniform that is probably outlawed in all 50 states now ☺ )

5. Money can’t buy happiness. Money can buy safety, security and all of the essentials for survival – but not happiness. Place value on money for what it is - a currency that allows you to eat, sleep, get on facebook, text your mother and drive your car around. Respect money enough to save some – and most importantly value other people’s money in the same way you do your own.

6. I will ALWAYS love you. I don’t know if this is the way all Mom’s feel but I’m guessing we get implanted with this strange hormone during pregnancy that allows us to love our children NO matter what. This means exactly what it says – nothing you can do or say or NOT do or say will change the fact that I love you. This DOES NOT mean I will always agree with your decisions, that we will never argue or that I will bail you out of bad decisions you make. PS – please don’t test this theory by joining an extremist group that barbecues kittens on Tuesdays or something equally abhorrent, ok? Also, if you become a Republican….I will still LOVE you.

Alright, that should do it for now. When I snap my fingers you will wake up and ask me if there is any chores I need help with today ☺ Also I reserve the right to add to, remove from or modify this list as I see fit – but for now I will just be happy if you read it – bonus points if I catch you applying it in your life. This list should be accepted for what it is – a completely biased view of life from the lenses of a MOM desperate to have happy, well adjusted children she can brag about on Twitter and Facebook ☺

Enjoy this next phase of your life Son! There is no way you can attend Arizona State University in the land of sunshine and NOT have a bright future ☺

Love,

MOM

Don't call a plan Students First when it's about reducing resources please.

Those of you who know me also know that I usually only blog when I have something I’m passionately pissed about. Today is such a day. Below is the letter I’m sending to my Idaho State Representatives about the proposed Idaho Education Reform Plan. I encourage ALL of my Idaho friends and family who care at all about the future of Idaho to review the plan here http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/studentsComeFirst/students101.htm and send your Representative your feedback.

If you don’t know who your State Representative is click here for a map and contact information http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/studentsComeFirst/students101.htm

February 9, 2011

Open Letter to Governor Butch Otter, Superintendent Tom Luna and Members of the Idaho Legislature:

I’ve spent the last few weeks listening with interest and growing concern about State School District Superintendent Tom Luna’s education reform plan for Idaho. I’ve spent the last few hours trying to absorb the principles of the plan and get my mind around the positive pieces of it. The bottom line is I can’t get my mind around it because I CANNOT for the life of me, understand a plan that wholesale accepts that we can’t and won’t find a way to make education funding a priority. From the plan:

A decade of lost opportunity: even with optimistic revenue growth, it will take idaho 10 years to get per-pupil spending back to where it was just two years ago. we can no longer rely on federal bailouts to prop up our education budget year after year.

I completely agree. This isn’t the federal governments problem, it’s Idaho’s problem. If the Idaho legislature, Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna don’t see funding education as a priority why should the federal government care? Mr. Luna said tonight on the KTVB education forum that there was no way the legislature would consider a tax increase because they wouldn’t even increase criminal fees by $1.50. That makes me both sad and ashamed to be a resident of Idaho. What could be more important than Idaho’s future workforce?

I’ve had discussions with several friends and colleagues about the challenge with finding the right talent in Idaho to fill needed positions. Many are recruiting out of state to fill openings in their companies, yet we seem to be headed in the wrong direction. I am the only employee in my company that lives in Idaho. We would love to add more but it requires a highly educated workforce. I personally moved my family back to Idaho less than a year ago (after being away for 5 years) because of the positive educational experience my kids had in the Boise School District. It makes me sad to see how much has already been lost and how much more will go if we don’t take action.

There are parts of the plan I think can make a difference in improving education. My largest frustration is that it feels like the plan is NOT subject to valuable feedback and negotiation by stakeholders. In addition, it seems to remove a lot of local control (which really surprises me from a government that sued the Federal Gov’t for local control recently). Finally, the plan doesn’t even begin to consider the possibility of finding a new funding source to properly fund public schools. We are supposed to all just accept that 50th out of 51 in the country in funding per student is good enough.

I urge the members of the Idaho Legislature NOT to pass this reform bill as is. Tom Luna fully admits we cannot begin to understand what the future “unintended consequences” of this plan are. Let’s step back as a community of legislators, teachers, students, parents and business leaders and work to develop a sustainable education plan that ensures a better future for Idaho.

Thank you,

Amy Geddes
Mom of Geddes Teens
Lover of Idaho
EVP and COO of Clareity Security

Free Customer Service Advice to US Air - and anyone else who cares :)

Free Customer Service Advice – an Invitation created especially for US Airways
by Amy Geddes,
Frequent Traveler, Full-time Mom and peaceful but militant customer advocate.

I will be the first to admit, when I first envisioned this blog post several hours ago as I landed in PHX only to discover that my connecting flight to DCA had left without me – it was going to be littered with sarcasm, threats, f-bombs and other distractions we all use as a way to temporarily relieve ourselves from the sheer stress of being away from home. However, being the even tempered, rationale, patient person that I am (what??? Those of you who know me don’t believe this?) I decided to take a different approach. Why not use my tragic customer service experience today as an opportunity to offer US Airways some “coaching” in service done right? As someone responsible for operations, logistics and MOST importantly customer service at my company, I’m constantly searching for good ideas and advice. I’m also constantly evaluating operations and customer service inside organizations I receive products or services from. I notice the good, the bad and the truly UGLY like anyone worth their salt in the customer service industry would.

So what could have possibly happened today that inspired me to BLOG about it? After all, thanks to Twitter and my ability to express (rant/rave) myself in 140 characters or less, I haven’t blogged since Thanksgiving. Even before that my attempts were half-hearted at best. Well my friends, aside from being therapeutic (I’m writing at 30K feet on a flight to Baltimore) it’s also my way of trying to take something negative and turn it into something positive. After all, no one at US Airways woke up this morning thinking of ways to make me miserable – at least I hope not ☺ So here is my story of a day gone South (literally) and my advice to US Airways on several missed customer service opportunities. Enjoy and take heart – most reasonable people understand that “#%*! happens” – the key to customer service is how you respond #%*!

Ironically, this customer service nightmare actually started last night when I logged on to my MAC (the sweet and always available MACadamia) to web check for my flight. Despite being a Dividend Miles Member and a routine US Air customer, my choices for seat selection were as follows; a) sandwiched between two unknown seat mates in rows 30 and higher b) the highly coveted aisle seat in the last row next to the toilet or c) the coat closet (ok this wasn’t actually an option but in reality some would prefer it to a or b). But alas, the plane was nowhere close to full – I could have my choice of seats near the front of the plane for as low as $15 per segment! JOY, HAPPINESS, FUZZY BUNNIES AND RAINBOWS – did this make me feel better ☺ Grumbling a bit, but evaluating my level of productivity on a 4 hour flight sandwiched between a linebacker for the Cardinals and a 10 year old headed to the Nation’s Capitol to see the White House, I selected the seats and paid the ransom. Moving on…would I like to save $2 by checking my bag on-line vs. at the airport? OF COURSE!!!! There is nothing I would love more than paying you $23 for the privilege of saving you time and money by not hauling onto the plane my entire week’s worth of suits jammed into an approved carry on device. I now have a $48 premium over and above the price of my ticket for the privilege of traveling on your airline. At this point in the game, I also now have an expectation of “premium service”. ***Note to US AIR – in case it isn’t obvious this “web check” experience is your FIRST missed customer service opportunity. The reason I was Gold in 2008 and Silver in 2009 and a lowly Dividend Miles Member in 2010 is exactly this experience. You have provided me with no motivation to remain loyal to you. I have ideas on how to create loyalty, but the basic premise of not using ANY customer data that you so richly collect to make a decision about charging for seats and bags is fundamentally flawed.

Regardless, I quickly recover from the financial hijacking (pun intended), and convince myself again that the convenience and premium service I will receive is worth it. Oh how the mind has a way of playing such vicious tricks! I arrive as suggested 90 minutes before my flight, am greeted by what I now believe is a rare sighting – a mildly friendly US Air employee. I’m quickly shuttled through check-in, congratulated for arriving with a whole pound of available space in my very large suitcase and reminded that should I choose to add anything to the bag for the return trip I will be assessed (you guessed it) an overweight FEE! I assure them my intentions are pure and my understanding of their policy is intact. Off I go to the gate for an “on time” departure – or so I thought.

This is the part where I acknowledge that with air travel, arriving safely is the number one priority. Therefore, I’m not overly concerned with a 25 minute departure delay in the interest of passenger safety. What does concern me is the complete lack of fore thought of US Air employees. Not once did anyone think to inquire as to how this delay might impact the short connection they had created for me (and others) on this flight. My search for a gate agent who could assist was futile with boarding in progress so being the “leave it to the experts” kind of person I am, I boarded the plane confident that US Air had it under control. I mean they wouldn’t put me on a plane knowing they had no possible way of delivering me to my intended destination in a reasonable time…..would they???

As I climb into my pricey 5C seat and buckle in, I observe the crew inviting two traveling crew members (non revenue) to move to the very much open First Class cabin. I see an opening, so I take it and boldly inquire as to my opportunity to move to First Class also. I explain I paid an upgrade fee for the premium seat and noticed an even more premium seat going unused. It seems reasonable to expect that US Air might be willing to thank me for my revenue. Ummmm, not exactly – I was informed that they would be happy to move me to first class for (you guessed it!) an additional fee. After all, they were “not authorized” (a word I will come to loathe as this day progresses) to offer any upgrades to travelers without a minimum of Silver status. I accept my fate, keep my opinions about the employees traveling in first class ahead of valuable paying customers to myself and settle in with my book for the duration of the flight. ***Note to US Air – in case it isn’t obvious this is your THIRD missed customer service opportunity. Letting a first class seat go empty rather than upgrading customers who paid for premium seating on a first come – first serve basis is a lost opportunity to gain loyalty in my opinion. By the way, your SECOND customer service opportunity flew by when no one bothered to check the “at risk” connecting flights and provide appropriate counseling on passenger options. That one is so BASIC it makes me wonder if US AIR has created such a miserable company that even the employees don’t give a #@%!

We land in Phoenix at the designated time for the departure of my connecting flight – yet still, I hold great hope that US AIR has somehow managed to screw up all of their on time departures for the day. No such luck – the nerve of that crew to leave without me ☺ Not to worry, being the experienced and creative traveler that I am I note a flight to Dulles boarding right next to my arriving flight. How fortuitous, it’s not my original destination but it’s definitely close enough!!! Certainly I can explain the situation to the lovely gate agent and she can find room for me on this flight (after all I have no bags – I paid for them to be lost in the maze of baggage that also misses it’s connection.) I approach the “busy” gate agent with my best look of happy desperation (for those of you who have seen Meet the Parents it’s a little like that – lots of keyboard tapping and an apparent lack of desire to even acknowledge my presence). After waiting patiently for just under five minutes while she happily types without so much of an “I will be right with you”, I work up the nerve to inquire as to her ability to assist me. What happens next is straight out of a textbook on how to alienate and unnecessarily inflame customers. The gate agent informs me that she is “busy” assisting with the flight that is being boarded and that my choices are a) to wait for her to finish b) visit the Customer Service kiosk located nine gates up on the right. My attempts to explain my situation to her were fruitless – she muttered some nonsense about “policies” and her “lack of authorization” to assist. Deflated and with a growing sense of anxiety I head off to the Customer Service kiosk where I meet friendly US Air employee #2. (For those of you statistically inclined folks, this brings the total employee interaction count to four with exactly 50% of them able to effectively demonstrate friendliness and compassion.)

#2 is a friendly and capable woman who explains that in the time it has taken me to walk to the Customer Service counter, the flight to Dulles has “closed” and that there are no more flights to DCA or Dulles for the day. A quick search of possible partner airlines nets no options that could be even remotely described as reasonable. My “best option” – a flight to Baltimore (a full hour and a half and $125 cab ride from my intended destination). #2 notices the look of sheer disappointment and near panic on my face and quickly offers what she is “authorized” to offer – ground transportation from BWI to DCA (my original airport destination) upon my arrival in Baltimore. I ponder the logic of this offering for a moment, before asking what to me is the obvious next question. Could this transportation service drop me at my hotel which is 20 minutes closer than a trip to DCA – saving us both what is now my most precious commodity – time. At this point, I already knew the answer and accept the apologetic “NO” without argument. After all, I have a flight to Baltimore to catch and if I was “lucky” my bags were set to arrive with me thanks to the quick thinking of #2. ***Note to US Airways – yes, this is in fact missed opportunity number FOUR – offering a service that is of no value with the express understanding that MOST customers won’t accept it (because it is of no value to them) does not create customer loyalty.

My customer service advice to US Airways (and all businesses for that matter) is so simple, yet so effective. When you screw up – apologize – and then make it right to the best of your ability. Listen to your customer, acknowledge their pain and suffering (this has been made to sound intentionally dramatic ☺) and set about asking them what you can do to make it right. Finally, empower your employees to create customer loyalty and refuse to hire the ones who are too passionate about policies and procedures. Most customers just want a reasonable solution – I didn’t need you to hire a private limo service or provide me with a roundtrip ticket to the destination of my choice. What you could have offered me was a US Air voucher with value greater than or equal to the $125 cab ride incurred as a result of your mistakes. The purpose of the voucher is two-fold 1) you guarantee yourself an opportunity to give me a better experience next time 2) you provide me something of perceived value in exchange for my pain and suffering. EVERYONE WINS – and no one has to drive from one airport to another in the middle of the night!!!

This is the point where I jump off my soap box, feeling satisfied that if I helped EVEN one person think about how they might provide better customer service then it was worth the hour I spent telling my story ☺ Safe and happy travels to all of you fortunate enough to be flying the friendly skies for business or pleasure! In the grand scheme of things my problems today were pretty minor, and at this writing I have arrived safely at my destination where I’m ensconced in the comfort of my Marriott bed surfing on free internet (these folks get LOYALTY by the way)!

Until I’m inspired again, I bid you all adieu.

AG

I have a lot to be thankful for...

It's 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and something has possessed me to write a blog post for the first time in about six months. My intentions to blog were good, my topics are abundant yet somehow I never seem to get around to it. But today is different! I'm up!!! and I'm gonna blog about it :)

Several of my friends have been faithful to a month long practice of updating their Facebook status with the things they are grateful for. My "thankful" updates were sketchy at best. So, here they are all at once (Disclaimer: this list is in no way intended to be a comprehensive list. However, if you feel left out please feel free to call my Mom and "let her have it" for raising an ungrateful child :)

In no particular order of importance (because that would require me to think way too hard):

* Opposable thumbs - laugh if you will but all that baking I did last night would have been much more difficult without them. Not to mention how many more typos this blog post would have.

* Organic Turkey Farmers - these guys rarely get the credit they deserve for their contributions to my favorite holiday. These turkeys didn't grow themselves people - thank a farmer!

* Punkins!!! I love 'em!!! They are delicious and nutritious and this year I roasted some for the very first time. Hello, yummy soups, pies, cakes and who knows they are probably even good with Bacon!

* Bacon. That's all - just Bacon.

* Coffee (see bacon for more detail)

* Vodka - it's clearly delicious alone or with almost any liquid companion.

*College Football - I reserve the rant to continue to rant about the BCS but there is just nothing like the pure competition of college football!

* A strong body (ok, I may owe Wes the Trainer some gratitude here but I do most of the work :) It's great to be up this morning ready to run in the Turkey Trot!

* My awesome friends - you know who you are! Some of you have been around since second grade and others are more recent additions. Thanks to all of you who listen to me, advise me and help me hide the evidence when necessary. Special thanks to DW who has taught me to cook outside the prepackaged isles this year and showed me life without gluten can still be awesome!

* My Clareity Partners and Team - seriously the most amazing group of people I've ever had the opportunity to work with. The "work hard, play hard attitude keeps us going even in challenging times".

* Geddes Teens - they challenge me physically, intellectually and emotionally on a daily basis. I love them without condition, but they do get bonus points for taking out the garbage!

* My family - I am fortunate to have a big one! Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grama's, one Grandpa left, one amazing Mom, 2 cool Dad's and a Poppy, 2 baby brothers I adore, 2 more baby bros I inherited later in life but also adore, and 3 of the cutest nephews on the planet. Add Geddes Teens and we put the fun in "dysfunction" :)

*LOVE - I have so much of it in my life and I rarely am able to just kick back, enjoy and appreciate it. Thanks to all who love me and for the opportunity to love you back!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Chaos with occasional bouts of normalcy……

That’s basically how I would describe my life in six words or less. The really funny thing (in a I would cry if I didn’t laugh sort of way) is that I have some how convinced myself that “next week” or “next month” things will slow down and there will be less chaos and more peacefulness. Occasionally that actually happens. Truthfully, most of the time tranquility sneaks up on me in the most unexpected way. Now, I just need to learn to do a much better job of enjoying it when it arrives.

So today the world got a way from me for a bit – I forgot several important things (if you are on Twitter you already know a few but not all). I let myself become completely overwhelmed by seemingly simple tasks. I mean seriously, I can run a company with a team of 22 spread out over 5 states on a daily basis, but I can’t remember to turn the oven off??? I was headed for a full on melt-down by about noon when out of nowhere (ok maybe not nowhere ☺ ) the voice of reason appeared – “maybe you should make a list” – what???? Crazy talk – I don’t need lists- I have a memory like a steel (whadya call that thing again?)

So I acquiesced and started the list. It was pretty amazing to me how easy it was and how much less overwhelmed I felt as I began to believe I could actually get it all done. Bills paid….check, appointment for Trixie at BMW hospital…..check, Optometry appts for all…..check (help from Baby Daddy – thx!), Landscaper to remove tree limbs (and toilet paper in tree limbs) from hanging over my driveway….check, return GPS I accidently walked off with from rental car in DC (not check but it’s still on the list), reschedule Monday workout because I forgot kids were flying out to Baker….check, ortho appt for Geddes teen #2 before her departure to Baker….check. Plan a much needed vacation….check!!!! And the list goes on. I’m starting to understand why I forget things. I’m on memory overload – I need an upgrade much like the one we gave my MAC a few weeks ago.

But then, sometimes forgetting is good – so maybe I don’t want to remember everything. I really just want to remember the good parts – peace, tranquility and what it feels like to just be HAPPY. I’m definitely working on it and I’m confident that with enough practice I will “own” HAPPY. For now, I’m recommitting to the good old fashioned “list” – maybe it all gets done and maybe it doesn’t but it’s nice to know in advance what I’m going to forget ☺