Smelling Roses

How often do we stop and smell the roses?

Do we even have roses to stop and smell, now-a-days?

Sometimes, if you are like me, the roses have lost their smell by the time we get around to smelling them.

Is 'smelling the roses' even important to us anymore? Is it important to me?

Doing life, at the pace that we do life... is crazy! We don't take time to enjoy the crisp autumn breeze, visit the beach to see the sun rise on the horizon, sit and marvel at how a baby learns so fast, read a book, spend time talking with a friend we haven't seen in a while, take a deep breath in a quiet home late at night..... we should do those things.

So here is my challenge to myself and anyone who wants to join me... I want to 'stop and smell the roses' everyday this week. Take a few moments out of each day to think, pray, wonder, smile and to just breathe. I am soooo looking forward to my 'rose smelling moments'.

Back, Crazy! Back!

I think I have just been through the craziest week of my life.

I thought you would want to hear about it.... grab a snack and get comfy.

It all started on last Monday afternoon. We were all going about our work, they way we should have been, when suddenly..... ALARM! We have to get as many of our student learning plans to the big man by Friday at 3:00! If we don't.... we may not have kiddos to tutor!

Eeeeek Gad! That's 4 days and many of our conferences weren't scheduled until later in the week, and even into next week.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK! ALL HANDS ON DECK!" exclaimed Carol at our teleconference the next evening. (apparently this just became a short story with dialogue! Hmmmm... oh well.)

Academic Coaches and Lead Tutors flew into action. They went to homes, work places, the shopping lines at grocery stores, the pharmacy line at CVS, McDonald's play place, the library and chased every parent to get the conferences done. Lead Tutors called parent after parent to aquire the meet time and the promise of a signature. They used some serious CIA undercover action to get those signatures.

Meanwhile, in the bat cave.....Heather and her team of fearless data specialists emailed and scored and marked and typed and clicked their fingers to meer nubbi-ness getting the learning plans created. They tag-teamed, they long-balled (Long balled???), they typed and typed and typed. They stayed up until 1:00, then 2:30....and even 4:40 in the morning to work on these projects!!! The Academic Coaches drove mile after long mile to collect learning plans only to drive more miles to meet up with Heather at Office Depot. When the copying was done, they headed back from whence they came to distribute those copies. Heather stayed behind in the Office Depot parking lot. After the relentless copying, stapling and *#%!@ alphabetizing of over 600 learning plans in 3 days.... the final stack was placed on the big man's desk.

Relief swelled over the A+ Tutor U staff. Did we do enough? Will we be able to have more?

We may never know the answer to that question. Then again... we may know Monday morning.

So, that was my week. (Did you see me in there? I was one of the characters!) I am hoping this week slows down but I have a feeling I will not be seeing my blogger-friends until next weekend. Here's hopin' I don't ever see 4:40am this week!!!....or ever again!! :)