Update for a Monday

Hi!

How have you been?

I know that we haven't caught up recently so why don't you grab a coffee, sit back and let me fill you in.

First, work is crazy and there just isn't an appropriate metaphor to adequately describe my career lately. Let it suffice to say that my workday starts early, bleeds into my personal time and invades my dreams. I am both grateful and profoundly tired. Relief is coming but it will be summer before the pressure will ease.

This month, I was lucky enough to convince a client to consolidate two planned trips to Asia into one so instead of having to fly over there this week, I'm in the office. Next week, I have to take a short jaunt to Florida for four days but I'm not complaining. The weather in Northwest Arkansas has been cold and rainy and I welcome the dose of vitamin D coming my way.

In April, I'm taking a new client to Asia. We will be gone for two weeks and visiting Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Vietnam. I really like this client and look forward to helping her solve some of her sourcing issues but the truth is, I'm dreading the trip. It's a long time to be away from my family and to make matters worse, I arrive back to my home on a Sunday afternoon and have to turn right around the following day and fly to Vegas to work a trade show for four days with another client. My children are going to feel like orphans.

I intend to assuage my guilt soothe them with gifts.

Things have been pretty good on the home front, lately, with the exception of teenage daughter. Faced with in school suspension, Saturday school and summer school to make up for the hours missed and the failed classes, teenage daughter waved the white flag. She dropped out.

Of school.

Two and a half months before graduation.

I am not angry with her. I'm just sad.

However, I am angry with her mother who has about as much common sense as a houseplant.

I should probably stop there.

On a positive note, manchild did well enough on his armed services exam that he will be in the recruiter's office tonight discussing his career choices. Dallas and I are beyond thrilled. We know that basic training and adjustment to military life will be challenging for manchild but we think he will adapt and eventually excel. At the very, very, least, he will come out of his service with a marketable trade and a future. Without going into a bunch of gory details, manchild's commitment to study for and do well on the entrance exam, was the clearest example of maturity that we have seen in him yet. In spite of some rather misguided and emotionally manipulative opposition, he made a conscious decision to take control of his life. People are a bit like birds in that some of them take longer to fly. I think manchild is about to spread his wings.

Last week, we celebrated Olivia's birthday, hosted dinner at our house with my clients, sold Dallas's truck, bought a new car, been out to dinner with one of my Chinese factory owners, sold Dallas's Harley, did eight loads of laundry, worked out at the gym six times, cleaned the house, grocery shopped and purchased tickets to New Zealand for Christmas. (more on that later)

Last week kicked my ass.

But this week looks marginally better because I'm planning to drink green beer on Wednesday and celebrate my inner redhead.

Thanks for hanging with me. I'll keep you posted. (pun totally intended)