The first week back from vacation slipped by me in terms of this weekly post. And you know what? So far as I can remember, that fact is the lowlight of the week. Another one that would technically make the list, but more as an inconvenience than a soul-dampener, was that for the second consecutive year my work computer was useless when I returned to the office. What is it about my absence that sends machines into comas from which they never recover? So I have a shiny new box on my desk. And I did unfortunately lose all of my "favorite" web sites which has forced me to scramble a bit more than usual in doing research. The upside of waiting a day and a half before being able to do anything? A heck of a nicely organized, records-managed desk!
And as long as we're on the subject of lows, the one that comes to mind most clearly for this week developed at the tail end of hoops on Saturday morning. For the most part it was a great workout. I love to sweat when I exercise, and the sultry conditions promoted plenty of that. Alas, by the end of the second hour, after having lost about three games in a row and diving out of bounds to save a loose ball that went squarely to the other team, my fist had a conversation with the padded wall. And all bones are fully intact.
The reflections enabled by vacation have had a terrific impact on me since. "Everthing's gonna be all right" has kept me at happy keel in several situations where lesser faith would've driven me to worry or anger. The prime example was in the midst of my most important project of the year at work. We are trying to get something in place by August 1 that could save the company $1 million a year. If a certain contentious issue can be solved, that number wouldn't rise to $10 million but would head sharply in that direction. So I busily called ten different people whose opinions matter in the decision. The key person has an extraordinarily busy schedule, but I found an hour window in there next Monday. All I needed was a conference room. I put in a request to the secretary and headed out to lunch. When I returned... that hour window had dissolved! It wasn't like I had to wait to send the invitation, I could have done it without a room reserved and filled in the detail later. Who knew how long it might take now, with each ticking day being precious?
My reaction, like many times recently, was that there must be a good cosmic reason that this happened. There must be plan B out there - perhaps so favorable that it was really a plan A. I still don't know what that reason is. But like the wife I met long after being rejected for a couple of Chicago jobs, something inescapably good is going to come of that extra time. I found a slot on Wednesday. Those extra couple of days might allow me to study a couple more finer points, or have an extra conversation or two with the participants. People might be in an overall better mood just because it's not Monday, or because it's unusually pleasant outside, or...
Or the idea might be rejected because it's on Wednesday rather than Monday. And that, too, would hold some mysterious useful purpose to reveal itself later.
As a wise philosopher once said, worrying adds no time to life. Scientists illustrate how destructive fury can be against oneself. Being able to live that for a fortnight has made the summer kickoff especially sweet!
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