Please forgive my mother's saying every time we returned from a trip. We took the red-eye from Las Vegas last night and sleeping sitting up has never been my forte.
Vegas was the site of the RE/MAX convention this year, the international RE/MAX convention. I am not a convention-goer; the last one I attended was for charter schools in 1999 in Denver. I decided to go to this one because of the motivational speakers and the temperatures in the high 60s. I admit it - I love the sun and there was plenty of it.
I also believe that it is necessary to take time away and get perspective. I usually do that on my own, but I must tell you that after three days of incredible speakers - really, world-renowned - I am fired up and ready to go (to borrow a phrase from those ever-energetic candidates.) The fires are lit under me personally and professionally. And beware! The first class I took was about blogging and it generated ideas and ideas which I will put into action in the next weeks and months.
Until I get some sleep I won't start. I did want to add this one note: returning to the Syracuse airport we went to get our baggage. There on the wall was a huge fall photo of the west side of Skaneateles Lake by John Francis McCarthy. It reminded me that on our way out we had passed over the Finger Lakes at sunset - we could see from Otisco over another four lakes with the sun reflecting off them - the virtual photo that Mr. McCarthy took years ago and that hangs framed in my studio. We are privileged, so privileged, to live in such a beautiful place, captured so beautifully by him.
[For more photos, go to www.johnfrancismccarthy.com]
