no, oz never did give nothing to the tin man.

...that he didn't, didn't already have.

so i'm home again from my trip. and after sharing with you the not-so-fun side of travel for work, i wanted to share with you what happened the following night...

one of the people i was having trained to run these trainings [say that three times fast] was riding along with me from the ed dept building to the hotel, and she asked what i'd done the night before... i told her my story of exhaustion [though i did leave out the part where i cried in my beer... though it was metaphorical tears... and not beer... but whatever...] and she asked if i wanted to do dinner that night.

i took her up on it... and we ended up going to the restaurant that i had *hoped* to get to the night before, and her husband met us [he had traveled with her from the east coast] and i had such a wonderful time.

[source.]

let me tell you a little about this woman... she's my mother's age, but at first blush, you'd think she was only in her late 30s. she's sweet and stylish in a very understated and age-appropriate way. she's got three kids, and just earned her phd. the most amazing thing about her story?? she didn't go to college (no community college or anything) until she was 38. and as we shared our stories, and laughed, and philosophized on why life is the way it is, she said the following:

people say that you can have it all... and they're right... you just don't get to have it all at once.

and that really stuck with me... because this woman has everything i hope to get out of life... a family: a marriage that has stood the test of time & three kids... and a fantastic career: a phd in a field that she really enjoys. and here she is, in arizona for a week in january, and her husband was able to tag along and play golf while working out of the office. and to top it all off, she has a good relationship with her adult children. if that isn't the whole package, i don't know what is.

[source.]

her life really inspired me.

and she also really encouraged me. in the car, she asked how old i was [which, i have to admit, is usually my nightmare, because i just know that no matter what the number is, i'm not old enough to be managing or directing people who are old enough to be my parents, and whose experience and education certainly outrank me]. but not with this woman... i told her how old i am, and she was and wasn't surprised. she told me that she guessed that i was about her daughter's age, but that she was really impressed with how i was able to talk with people and get them to do what i needed them to do. i don't remember how she phrased it, but the effect was that while i'm young, i don't come across that way.

what a compliment!! in my job, i often feel like the annoying youngster... like topher grace in "in good company," the one who has all the jargon and none of the experience... and as a result, none of the respect of the folks who have been around the biz for a few years. so for her to compliment my people skills and management skills??? let's just put it this way... i can ride that compliment for awhile :)

i was just thankful, to God, that he gave me that boost i needed last week. because i really did need it.