The heat was heavy in the air by 7:00 am on Tuesday, the last day of August. I found myself telling a visiting friend that she really should take in the air, and the views by the lake, in the remaining early morning hours. Up she jumped and declared she was going to go for a swim (threatening a skinny dip even!), leaving her 5 week old baby in my care.
When she returned she declared her early morning (swimsuit-clad) swim as "better than coffee!" and highly recommended that I take my own advice and hit the lake as well.
I jumped in our "John-Deere-Orange" golf cart, and in minutes found myself having the entire lake, surrounded by mountains, all to myself. It was just me, and the sound of boats hitting moorings from the slight breeze. I swam out to the swim raft, took a left past the rocky point, rounded the moored boats and "Blueberry Island" and then started floating on my back enjoying the pure view of the blue sky and the sudden sound of the Loons singing to each other.
I was overwhelmed with the feeling of gratitude.
The phrase "million dollar month" drenched my scalp as the water swished through my hair. I could not help but feel that this past month -- spent with my family at the Lake, away from the wired world of work, and deep into the beauty of rich nature and play -- was worth a million dollars.
------------ Talk Back ---------------
Did you have a nice summer? What was the highlight for you?
To the here and now: my kids started school this week. Oscar, age 5, rode the school bus for the first time this morning. Margo, age 8, told him how everything was going to go at school, and gleefully sat next to him on the bus. Sophie, age 15, was up and out before the rest of the house woke up.
This week, I also got back to the real world. I was honored to be a presenter to Harvard's Children's Hospital Grand Rounds in Boston -- a management forum. Felt good. Discussed my favorite topic with a new ROI focus, zeroed in on the cost of payroll, and how if you manage this large expense with a more modern bent (rather than the pure circa 1850 command and control focus of today) -- you could expect to gain 30 - 50% more productivity from that investment -- oh, and help make the world a much better place for the employees of the world as well.
-- Polly
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter
ShareThis
