You know what they say about the making plans…. I managed to get sick as soon as I came back from the conference and haven’t really feel like doing much except sleep. But that’s not the point of this post, so I’ll get to it. ISome of the cool things that happened around the VABF conference:
My teacher and her husband offered to let me carpool with them from near their house to Richmond. Not only did I save a little bit of gas, but I also felt a little less alone since Tony couldn’t go with me. I followed her lead until I got my bearings.
To get there at the time she wanted to meet, I would have had to leave about the time I usually get up. So I talked Dad into letting me stay with him Thursday night (that saved me 30-45 minutes of driving). I got there around dinner time (with food, of course!). We got to have dinner and spend some time hanging out before we both went to bed.
I learned that it’s not quite as intimidating to go to those sorts of things on my own as I thought it might be. I was a little sad that I couldn’t send Tony off to one session while I did another, but I honestly feel like it was a good experience to not having Tony there holding my hand (figuratively, anyway). I did have a couple of people I could fall back on if I really lost my bearings, but it turned out I didn’t need that kind of support and that’s a nice feeling.
Staying in the hotel Friday night was a last-minute thing, but I was really glad to have the hotel for two reasons. First, I basically missed breakfast and lunch Friday (long story) and really appreciated the cookie they give you when you check in. Second, it was ridiculously nice to be able to stretch out on the bed between the last breakout session and dinner.
Finally, the people working at the hotel for the conference were really nice. They seemed to be really friendly and I didn’t feel like they resented the extra work of the conference. I realize it’s their job, but as a worker, I know my boss’s choices aren’t always the choices I would make and it makes me hopeful that we were a group that didn’t cause more trouble than we were worth. As a particular story, one of the women who was clearing dishes for the meals tried to take my silverware Friday night after I’d finished my dinner. I was considering having dessert, so I asked her to leave them. Saturday at lunch, she started to clear my silverware and then seemed to realize who I was and was going to leave them for me. This was a huge conference and that she remembered who I was and that I wanted to keep my silverware amazed me. I was really thankful for her consideration, but I told her that she could go ahead and take them – dessert was cookies and I don’t need silverware for cookies!
So, Jean, thank you for the reminders to be thankful (yes, the link is a hint you should update more often!).
One Room Note House 