Off and Running!

Today is Wednesday, March 3rd, and it's high time I got started communicating. As I start to write, I am thinking back on my flight to Michigan 5 days ago. LIfe and work have been a whirlwind, as usual, so it was on the plane that I first set aside time to think deeply about what I wanted to get from my sabbatical, professionally and personally. Here's what I came up with:

Professionally I want to:
Learn all I can about emerging models of care for elders;
Get "below the surface" in conversation w/ colleagues about their work;
Deepen professional friendships;
Leave a good impression of our Campus w/ my hosts;
Create time to reflect on what I'm seeing and synthesize the information properly;
Find ways to share this experience w/ my staff - w/o getting pulled back into my CEO role;
Keep in touch w/ my fellow Fellows;
Listen more, talk less, and ask good, probing questions.

Personally I want to:
Find the quiet - rest;
Move at a more natural pace;
Weave time for family and friends throughout the 7 weeks I am taking off;
Wear only comfortable clothes - jeans and sweaters, sweats...
Cook a new recipe and invite friends over to share;
Exercise in pleasurable ways;
Be intentional about : cabin time, writing, walking the dogs;
Work on Matthew's quilt;
Observe my Lenten practice.
Remember that the rest of the family is not on sabbatical.

Once I wrote these intentions in my journal, I was able to relax and ride a growing wave of excitement. My trip started with an emphasis on the personal side with a visit to my daughter Meredith and family. See the photo for a view of my two year grandson. We created a snow woman who bore an uncanny likeness to Virginia G. Piper, the philanthropist that made this study trip possible.

My next entry will recap my visit to Evangelical Homes of Michigan where Denise Rabidoux and her crew set the bar very high for all the visits yet to come.

'til then...God bless.

Peggy