I am SOOOOO Excited!

I am SOOOOO Excited!

I can hardly wait until tomorrow!

Every year, my employer has a National Convention. It just so happens that this year they are celebrating their 125th year of existence. So Convention is bigger than even usual. They're also having the convention in DC this year because of the anniversary -- it moves all around the country so no one region has to travel all the time. Given all of this... I have been invited to attend the general sessions of the convention (well, OK there is nothing special about me, the invitation is open to all of the NHQ employees.) This will be my first time attending Convention.

But it gets better. I've been given permission to bring Elizabeth to convention, too. The convention has been going on all week, but tomorrow is the first day of the General Sessions, so Elizabeth and I will be heading downtown bright and early (please pray for my sleep issues) tomorrow morning.

It's going to be a great day! There will be the Parade of Volunteers, Exhibit Hall booths with tons of information and displays relating to the rich history of my employer, movies and videos and live presentations by Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, President of the American Red Cross Board of Governors, Jack McGuire, Present and CEO of the American Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, President of the Internal Red Cross and Red crescent Society, Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Home Land Security, and celebrity guests Jane Seymour and James Keach.

Sounds like it's going to be a pretty amazing day -- doesn't it. And this may sound silly but I'm most excited about being able to take Elizabeth to the event. I can't tell you how excited and thrilled I am to be able to expose Elizabeth to all of this. I mean, I doubt she's really going to understand everything that Michael Chertoff says when he talks about committing to the scared trust... but she's going to be surrounded by so much and hear so much that she's going to get SOMETHING out of it.

But that's not all. There were two unannounced, surprise guests of honor. The names of these two guests have just been announced... Laura Bush and Colin Powell. I'm about to explode. First off I love Colin Powell. Regardless of what you think about his politics or the politics of the people he served, his story is an impressive one. He is an extraordinary example of someone I would love to have as a mentor... He is a role model for leadership, strong values, personal accountability, and desire to live his ethics. As for Laura Bush... it really doesn't matter how you feel about her husband's politics... she is the First Lady and given all the time Elizabeth has spent studying presidents and first ladies and other important historical characters, I'm just trilled to death to have Elizabeth meet her.

(Remember when we were kids and we still had respect for an Office, regardless of who held the office. Why does that seem so naive now... it shouldn't be. If we (as a society) held these offices in high esteem, maybe the people we put in these offices wouldn't be such clowns.) Oh well... until tomorrow!