The familiarity of Home

Home. How do you define it? Most of the time I think of home I am thinking of the house that I live in with my family in Colorado. But I just finished reading a book set in the mountains of Kentucky and it really made me think of home. My home in the context of my ROOTS. Who I am. Where I came from. The descriptions of the sounds of water flowing in the creek, the smell of the woods, the smell of the rich earth after a good rain, the greeness of Kentucky that says its alive and the rotting smells that say its dying. These are a part of my soul. It has been many years since I have lived in Kentucky but it still my Home. I was struck by the emotions this book evoked in me. A longing for a place near the woods. A longing for the rich garden earth and a garden planted, tended and grown with my own hands. The simplicity of a life closer to God's creations not in the big city far from the things that are real. How can a person feel such and affinity for a place so long removed from their day to day life? Would I even appreciate it if I were there? Or just ignore it as I do the richness of my current life and the land in and sky in Colorado. Is the nostalgia of something lost or left behind what makes it so special in a persons mind?

Rowing on the Charles River - teamwork

Last week while I was taking a class at MIT I stayed in a hotel on the Charles River in Cambridge. Every morning I got up and looked out my window to watch the rowing teams practice. It seems so effortless watching them glide along the river. If you've ever tried to row a boat you know it isn't effortless and takes a tremendous amount of hard work. What makes it look so effortless? It the precision and coordination of the team that makes it look so effortless and also reduces the overall workload of each team member.

So I was wondering if people who formerly participated as members of a rowing team would make better employees in a team work environment. If you read this and have any ideas on this I would really like to hear about them. Since we are always trying to hire good people and teamwork is getting more rather than less critical I think this could be an interesting way to recruit candidates.

What do you think?

Easter Snow- Spring - Rebirth

Woke up Easter morning to a blanket of snow. It continued to snow for most of the day. I was so ready for spring that this really threw me off. While the snow is beautiful I am ready for the promise of spring. Easter represents rebirth after death so I expect Easter to be all green and fresh with new buds and fresh grass. Not snow and ice killing the tiny buds that were just coming out. I am in Boston this week and its still cold here. They are expecting snow in the east. I just hope spring is in Denver when I get home on Saturday and stays for good! I am ready to be reborn after the winter.

The Longest Week

Why is the week after you return from vacation always one of the longest weeks of the year. I returned to the office last Monday after a week off, My goodness what a week it was. It took me a couple of days to get jazzed about going in each day. So much can happen in a weeks time. I had to do a lot of smoothing things out. I guess sometimes I don't give myself enough credit for helping things to run smoothly. I am sort of the oil in the engine and it chugs a little bit if I am gone for too long. I do wonder what it will be like in November when I go to New Zealand for two weeks. Thank goodness for email.