Headed home. Meeting Tim, the publisher guy.

Well, by now, if you follow any of my social media sites, you know that Todd thinks he is hilarious by posing the girls in their morning pics in strange ways when I am out of town.  Here was the pose the final day of my trip!

And I am a happy mama getting to head home to see my baby girls!!  I text them pics of me and they text me pics of them throughout the day when I am out of town... oh... and then there's Facetime too!  Gabbi LOVES Facetime!

So, I am on the plane, and the dude sitting next to me is clearly working on some sort of presentation.  Welllll... for one... I am WOO!  That means I never miss an opportunity to meet someone and form a connection.  And for two... I, too, have been making and presenting speeches lately, and if he is seasoned, then I need to learn from him!

I was also intrigued by what he had in his little portfolio-thingy.

And so.  I leaned in.  Hello there... meet Tim!!  And meet his extraordinary system for keeping up with the vast amount of information he has coming into him regularly.  Tim reads books like I do.  Personal growth, customer service, strengths, self awareness, etc.  But, like me, he is on information overload.  This is how he manages that!  He uses 3 1/2x5" index cards to keep only the biggies from the books on.  He then categorizes them by his own preferred areas...i.e. customer service.  employee retention.  time management.  whatever.

Each one of these little stacks has only information behind it from a book he has read and that pertains to that subject matter.  Clear as mud?!  well... I have several people on my team who feed me information from blogs, podcasts, emails, books, TED talks, etc daily!!  I have asked them, that if they don't mind to please start giving me the high points in this fashion.  It'll help them retain it, cause writing it will solidify the biggies in their minds, and for SURE it will help me, who has Focus as number 25 of 34 of my strengths!  That's not real high!!  I need things broken down into bite sized bits for me to be able to absorb them!

He even let me into some examples so I could get a feel for his system.

Very cooL!  I intend to implement this immediately.  OH... and just for the record, if you are reading similar material and feel like contributing, I am ALWAYS open to adding your info to my stack.  Just email me, and I'll give you my address, and you can send those suckers right on.  I LOVE info.  I prefer a 4x6 card though, cause I am a tad bit more verbose than these single liner things like he used.  I need a little more detail to jog my memory.  For instance, below, would never be enough to remind me of what I'd actually read.

Oh, and one more thing.... Tim works for a publishing company and is very interested in my planner!!  He suggested I look into having it licensed, and then he wants me to send him a copy.  He works for --,---, Harcourt, and was especially interested in the school planner for teachers.  Hey, it pays to reach out to those around you!!

here's another kid/mom I reached out to when I saw she and her mom walking in the Dallas Airport.

I happened to notice her mom's tee shirt, and knew I needed to connect.
"Hi, I'm Melanie.  My nephew was at St. Jude for two years, so I couldn't help but notice your shirt.  I appreciate your support of that institution."
The more we talked, the more I realized I was SUPPOSED to stop and talk to her for sure.  She was actually at St. Jude WITH Jake.  Thankfully, her daughter's brain tumor was removed, and she has no evidence of cancer.  She has some residual effects from all the treatment, however, so if you see fit, stop and say a quick prayer for her brain to continue to heal to its prior healthy state!
She actually said, "I feel like I am meeting a celebrity family member!"  hahaha.  She told me that she followed Jake's caring bridge site the whole time they were there, and she can remember hearing his name called over the intercom at the hospital, as well as remembering the huge entourage that seemed to follow him everywhere he went.  When I told her that I was commonly the author of that blog, and I was his Aunt MO, she acted like she knew me!  How bout that?!  Talk about a VERY, VERY good reason to stop and talk to someone!!  Having someone remember my sweet nephew bolstered me for the whole day!

And then there was this.... this is a young adult with Down Syndrome.  I was touched to hear him, very loudly, asking for instructions as to where he should go next.  I absolutely LOVED that he seemed to be traveling alone, and when I got back home, I shared this picture with several of the parents in my clinic who have kids with Down's. I thought this would be such an encouragement to their realizing the potential independence their own kids might have someday!  I know it inspired me!

Oh.  Did I mention this?!  ha

And as is typical every single day, when I got home, I had one little brunette angel running to greet me with a "maaaaa maaaaa"!!!!

So glad to be back home with my little birdies.  This is what it's all about.

I am a blessed mama!

MO