To say that things have been a bit busy lately is a massive
understatement, (maybe a downright lie!)
The business is thriving but of course takes a lot of focus and effort;
customers always have needs/issues/opportunities that require attention, often
immediately, often in person. The months
of May and June have been an absolute blur with a travel schedule that has hit
new highs (or lows based on your perspective.)
To add a bit of mania into it all, we are in the process of buying a new
home in Atlanta and actually moved yesterday.
I know I know, obviously we are gluttons for punishment!
With everything going on, to say the least I have found myself
a bit stressed over the past weeks/months.
My “wick” is shorter than usual, and what were normal challenges / “bumps
in the road” now seem to be major issues.
I am constantly reminding myself of two concepts/principles form
previous essays: “PBR: Pause/Breath/& Reconnect”, and the ever favorite “Aunt
Lorraine’s Law: take Small Bites and Chew Thoroughly.” It’s a little scary and telling when you have
to work hard to reminding YOURSELF of lessons/stories that YOU wrote over the
past few years.
Well this week has been a crescendo of sorts. This past Sunday (father’s day of course) I had
to fly west in order to meet with customers coming to visit us at our plant in
Bakersfield California. The meetings Sunday
night and Monday went very well, and I flew out of Bakersfield Monday night to
make it back to Atlanta Tuesday morning to meet the folks from the moving company
packing up our old house. (All I have to
say is thank God for Jennie!) The big
crew came back on Wednesday to do the actual move, and by 8pm last night, every
piece of furniture, every box, every bike, everything had made it to the new
house! What’s totally crazy is that I
woke up this morning at 5:20am to get on a flight back to LA for key meetings
today, returning on the red-eye late tonight.
OUCH!
To say that I was a bit groggy this morning is an
understatement. With blurry eyes and a
sore back, I walked out in the dark humid Atlanta morning, got in my car and
headed to the airport candidly feeling pretty sorry for myself. Like many travelers I am a creature of habit
and as is my way, I pulled into the west economy parking lot (Aisle 14, section
A of course) and parked my car in my regular area just as the sky was
brightening with the rising sun. As I
was pulling my bag from the car, I was “assaulted” by the energized “chirps” of
a small bird perched in a tree above my car.
I couldn’t tell what I had done wrong, or was doing wrong, or at first
what the small bird was trying to “say” with its “chirps.” As I paused for a moment I realized that the
bird wasn’t alone, but was sitting right above a nest of twigs filled with tiny
baby birds. Here I was quietly standing
in an airport parking lot, having another “parent” tell me something about
her/his kids. Unbelievable and beautiful all in the same scene; standing in an
airport parking lot at the break of dawn in a moment of “Truth & Beauty.”
The “Truth” is that while it is a busy time, that little
bird reminded me to “join the club!”
Could I imagine trying to raise my kids in a parking lot tree at the
Atlanta airport? I know it’s a bit wild
now in my work and business life but I am lucky to have the problems that I am
dealing with. The “Truth” also is that family,
whether in a nest or a new home, must come first. The “Beauty” is that in the most unexpected
moments, like the west economy parking lot, we can experience truly beautiful
things. In a previous essay from last
summer titled “Unexpected Beauty”, I wrote about our family being blown away by
a musical “experience” in a Paris metro station. While it’s true that one can find beauty and inspiration
in Art Museums, Cathedrals, or in a myriad of “expected” environments, work to
find ways to be open and receptive to movements of “Truth & Beauty” where
you may least expect them!