Mary Poppins Wasn't Perfect

Hi, again. I'm currently in route to Phoenix, Arizona where my friend Helen will be picking me up from the airport before transferring me to my sister Lisa for the 5 days. It's now been three weeks since the fire. The phrase "oh. my. gosh." has been the most used phrase to come out of my mouth. For a lot of reasons. But mostly. Because I've been stunned by the generosity and support by so many people near and dear to my heart.....But also- by people I have NEVER EVEN MET. Many of you already know, but my friend Laura set up a donation page within hours of hearing about the fire. I was swamped at the conference and didn't even realize what was happening until later that night. When I finally got around to seeing messages, I saw that within several hours- $2,500 had already been raised. I was FLOORED. At the same time I was looking at the devastating pictures, I was seeing money come in. There was not even a chance to grieve. God had already b...

I want to post Part 2 but I don't feel that it is even finished being lived out yet.  I sit here at the computer and it's still too fresh. I'll come back to part 2 later. In the meantime, I DO want to share photos with you from my time in DC and NYC. Here are a few from the summit with coworkers: There are PLENTY more where these came from, but I'll post them later.n But I must add here- I work with the best group of people. I am so grateful this team was around me when I heard the news of the fire. After hearing the news, they supported me, let me cry on their shoulders (and into our walkie talkie's....which I didn't know was happening...oops!), brought me froufrou drinks from Starbucks, brushed my hair, and did a fantastic job covering for me during parts of the summit when I was slacking. I LOVE this team. I am blessed. If any of you coworkers happen upon this blog- know that I am overwhelmingly grateful for you. The outpouring of suppor...

Because I simply have to start somewhere.  Have I mentioned I love my job? I do.  I've been getting to travel as of late. And last week I was in DC for the 5th Annual National Summit on Education Reform. This is an event hosted by our organization.  This one-stop shop of policies and practices offers an opportunity for lawmakers, policymakers and advocates to learn the nuts and bolts of education reform. It's our biggest event of the year. This year the line-up of speakers included Jeb Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Joel Klein, Arne Duncan, and many others.  It's a big deal. We arrived Sunday morning and began setting up at the hotel and preparing for over 700 attendees to arrive.  Monday was filled with the same.  We went to bed late Monday night and had a 6am call time Tuesday morning.  I woke up at 5 and was in the process of getting ready when I received a phone call at 5:30am.  The number was a Florida number and not lis...