2 Days Left

I have two days left to wrap things up for the year- translation: I have two days to produce a magically clean and phenomenally organized office and have a complete work plan for 2010. Will I get it done? I'm determined to get the office part done- minus the phenomenal part, but I know I won't have the 2010 plan completed. I know the year isn't over, but the plan is to take a complete break next week and not work. I don't know how realistic that is- it is really hard for me not to work, I get a little obsessed sometimes. But I also know that I need a mental break. I've been struggling lately and not getting enough accomplished, so it would be a good thing to take a week off. I probably will end up doing some 2010 planning though.

It is has been an interesting year- both personally and professionally. There were a lot of highs- continuing to grow despite the economic meltdown around us, the date auction, the anniversary event, the grants we received, reaching more police and fire departments, continuing our DCF donations, expanding our holiday donations, deciding to work with homeless shelters next year and meeting lots of cool people who support our work. Of course the were a few lows- I met quite a few rather lousy people, it was a lot tougher finding financial sponsors for our anniversary celebration and there is the tremendous pressure to grow Project Smile so that my vision becomes a reality. It's funny- now that I'm writing this and actually thinking about 2009, I can definitely say this was a good year. I've also learned a lot and I have an excitement to learn more. The good things that happened this year far outweighed the bad.

The lady came today to donate stuffed animals and books from the drive she organized at her office. She is the same woman that I wrote about last month- two of her children died of cystic fibrosis and another child is awaiting a transplant. Her daughter had wanted to donate her stuffed animals to PS, but had died before she got to make her donation. I was thinking about it for a while this afternoon- I can't even begin to imagine how one copes with losing two children and having another one sick as well. I thought about how strong this mom must be. It also made me think about how important it is to enjoy every moment in life. I do a lot of worrying in life, but I want to spend more time enjoying the present. One of the best things I did this year was my summer of fun. Every weekend for almost the entire summer, I did one new fun thing. It was awesome- one of the best things that I did. Things kind of fell off with my mom's accident in October, but I've decided that after Christmas, I will be officially back to my weekend adventures. I've never been one to take things for granted- maybe that's because I worry so much about things. Seeing this lady today and knowing that she lost two of her three children, reminded me of how important it is to enjoy every day and to cherish every moment with our loved ones.

Anyways friends, that's all for tonight. I'm off to write my list for tomorrow, then bed. Hopefully by tomorrow night I will be able to gush about my fabulously clean office! Until next time...