Springtime in UAE

This is the Harry Potter birthday bash in Abu Dhabi: Two granddaughters (middle) turning 7 and 4! At four, Ginger declared herself a "thinking girl." Springtime of their lives. Such a beautiful and delicate season. I have ventured to invest in these speculative futures with a hearbeat. Full disclosure. No insider trading. I won't be flying over, but will be that much closer to them.

The snow drops popped open first but the crocus are just that much more showy... still with snow on the ground two days before departure.

We came too close to loosing our photographer today! Nothing life threatening but a lesson for future team leaders: Do not leave it up to any individual team member to turn in their own paperwork.

Record Breaking

8.9 Earthquake Followed by Tsunami Hits East Coast of Japan!

That was the news yesterday morning as we were waking up.

Philippines seem to have been spared any serious fallout. 

Here at home, schools were closed all across town after 6-8" of heavy snow rained down all night. Crocus and snow drops are popping through layers of leaves, soil, and of course more snow!

Not my team, but the next GSE from RI District 6650 is scheduled to go to Japan in September!

Before you go ...

Last week we learned that the woman who had been caring for Larry and Trisha's mom's dog  ... Larry and Trisha's mom's dog ... right; had to make the most difficult of decisions. Sandy was having no more good days. Still, two years of a very loving exchange since Veronica had expressed her wshes for our little girl, this was heartbreaking news.

This week my little mom, in a downpour, struggled in and out in and out of my car as we hunted for her Dr's office. They had moved from original location before her last visit. She checked before coming in case they had moved AGAIN. They assured her she had the right location (yes they are still on Tippecanoe ...).  I trust her on this. Mom is "all there" - can rattle off dates of last visits and past surgeries like no one I know. 

I wonder what penalty it is that must be imposed for taking time with 87 yr. olds on walkers dripping from the rain. Believe me, as I came into the conversation after parking the car, I almost bit the tongue through What is it that they DO to their employees if they just take a little more time to be informative? Perhaps it is a reward for the slight reprimand that is the incentive. ? Even mom doesn't remember every piece of mail that was sent to her two years ago announcing a relocation.

In the car she cried. ... Now I was tasting blood:
"Can't they be a little more helpful to someone in my situation? I called ahead. Shouldn't they know?"
"Mom, you just don't sound like an 87 year old that uses a walker over the phone."
I got a little smile, but ...
"I tell them I'm at Park Vista!"
"Mom, They probably think you work there."
BUSTS out laughing!
That great Schuller laugh. 'Warms my heart.

Did you know there are two brick buildings marked "B" just across Rt. 224 on Tippecanoe? What do they DO to these people?

One script for pain pills (Dr.- in reference to possible addiction problems: "At 87? So what! We can't have you living in pain! Take a pill! So what!" - I like him) and an MRI scan later, we are on our way home. We'll see next week if she's a candidate for surgery.

I'm going to miss my mom in the Philippines.

A few of our favorite things



Team building can be a creative process. We've all just met a few months ago after all ... how well DO we know each other?

I asked each team member bring something most precious to them.

We placed them on the table and tried to guess who brought what.

The items were a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird," a set of keys, a small Pekingese statuette, and a Methodist cookbook.

No, I'm not telling.