Life Unleashed

Wow. It's February. When did that happen??

The past four days I was in a conference vacuum. We had our annual Presidents' Conference and I played a pretty big role in the planning and implementation of it. Presidents from our schools around the world flew into DC and attended the conference. There were about 140 of them and some of their spouses. As always, the conference was energy zapping, but I enjoyed it. As a benefit to being one of the directors, I was able to stay at the hotel in a really nice room. It was great to be treated like a VIP from the hotel staff and have a fancy room while I was there. Also, being able to stay at the hotel made life much less complicated.

School is going well. I gave my first presentation in class yesterday. I had to defend a paper that I wrote. Overall, I think I did pretty well. Thanks be to God because my nerves were a little shaky before getting up in front of everyone. My class is pretty diverse and so far no one has dropped out. There are still 16 of us. I'm one of the youngest in the class, but I seem to be respected just as much by my classmates, so that's encouraging. I don't feel intimidated about speaking in class and the atmosphere is friendly and encourages dialogue.

I took the day off to rest from the conference and catch up on school work. I'm a bit behind in my reading and hope this won't be the norm. I realize that keeping up with the reading will be an uphill battle that I won't win until the year is complete. Next week we are going to begin to focus on our thesis. Eek! I have no idea what to focus on and am hoping I'll gain some inspiration real soon. I'm debating a study in my professional field or one with the pregnancy center. Those are my two ideas now, but I may change my mind when it comes down to deciding on something.

Well, there's not much to report here, but I thought I'd share.

I hate that I missed my dad and Mal's birthday. It's weird to not be with family and celebrating when we've always done so in years past. Today is mom's birthday.

My mother is a woman of strength and conviction. Her openness to people and cheerful spirit attract others to her. She gives the best hugs and I love when she says my name. I have a voicemail saved from November where she says my name over and over before declaring her love for me. I'll keep saving and listening to it as long as my phone service allows. She gives of herself wholeheartedly and loves people that some may consider unlovable. She doesn't judge and wraps me up even if I share something about myself that disappoints her. She's a hero to other women. A hero to me. She's a tower, an anchor, and an angel on earth. She's my mom and my friend. Happy birthday to her!