Wow!
Waking up, I'm afraid to move. Thinking back to the past four days, uncertainty as to whether or not my body will cooperate fills my mind. It's been quite a long weekend.
Thursday found me loading my van with silent auction donations and swag bag goodies, unloading it at the hotel with a little help (it took over an hour!), doing a lot of driving, and finally relaxing at the hotel for an hour before organizing everything and meeting with amazing women to stuff swag bags and chat. Friday found me up at 5am and out the door by 6 to set up a silent auction and attend the Healthcare Provider Seminar. Thankful that my room was right off the main hallway where the event took place, I prepared my own food for lunch and made several trips to the room for meds and supplements to get me through the day. A dinner was followed by listening to an amazing speaker, then prepping registration folders and hanging out with more brilliant women.
To bed late and up early once more, the next morning was more hectic than the first. Silent auction, theme baskets, my non-profit's table set up, and donning my storyteller hat, I entertained children with rainforest stories and lots of silliness. Perhaps the favorite story was read laying in the middle of the huge space that would next be used for hula hooping. Stories exhausted, likewise myself, it was only 10:15AM and a full day lay ahead.
More silent auction and theme basketry, then lunch and a ceremony to celebrate women who blessed their communities with providing support to breastfeeding families. Theme baskets. Silent auction. A quick trip to explore the vendors and acquire treats for my children. The day flew by.
A frenzy of activity in the final minutes of the auction gave way to eager bidders requesting their winnings before we could even begin to get organized. Theme basket tickets drawn and silent auction winnings totaled, my job was almost done. Baskets claimed and auction goods collected and paid, clean-up began.
One last gathering with a group of lllovely llladies, and it was time to go home. Three days, lots of energy, and an accumulation of spoon debt (is that even possible), and I could finally curl up in bed for a while. Well, after the van was unloaded of HPS and Conference plunder and re-loaded with Earthstock necessities.
Sleeping in until 6AM and out the door by 7:15, caffeine was acquired before set-up began. A windy day and too-large replacement roof made for an interesting time setting up the carport-sized tent- and keeping it from becoming a giant hang-glider. Ziggy and I explored the festival, my kids hooped, drummed, ate, and visited vendors. Haley even sold some of her drawings and bought a beeswax candle with her earnings.
By clean-up time, I was beyond tired and very much in pain. By the time we arrived home, it was all I could do to get myself up the steep driveway, the stairs, and to my bed, where I collapsed for an hour and a half before regaining consciousness enough to eat dinner. Ten hours of sleep provided little recuperative benefit.
Thursday found me loading my van with silent auction donations and swag bag goodies, unloading it at the hotel with a little help (it took over an hour!), doing a lot of driving, and finally relaxing at the hotel for an hour before organizing everything and meeting with amazing women to stuff swag bags and chat. Friday found me up at 5am and out the door by 6 to set up a silent auction and attend the Healthcare Provider Seminar. Thankful that my room was right off the main hallway where the event took place, I prepared my own food for lunch and made several trips to the room for meds and supplements to get me through the day. A dinner was followed by listening to an amazing speaker, then prepping registration folders and hanging out with more brilliant women. To bed late and up early once more, the next morning was more hectic than the first. Silent auction, theme baskets, my non-profit's table set up, and donning my storyteller hat, I entertained children with rainforest stories and lots of silliness. Perhaps the favorite story was read laying in the middle of the huge space that would next be used for hula hooping. Stories exhausted, likewise myself, it was only 10:15AM and a full day lay ahead.
More silent auction and theme basketry, then lunch and a ceremony to celebrate women who blessed their communities with providing support to breastfeeding families. Theme baskets. Silent auction. A quick trip to explore the vendors and acquire treats for my children. The day flew by. A frenzy of activity in the final minutes of the auction gave way to eager bidders requesting their winnings before we could even begin to get organized. Theme basket tickets drawn and silent auction winnings totaled, my job was almost done. Baskets claimed and auction goods collected and paid, clean-up began.
One last gathering with a group of lllovely llladies, and it was time to go home. Three days, lots of energy, and an accumulation of spoon debt (is that even possible), and I could finally curl up in bed for a while. Well, after the van was unloaded of HPS and Conference plunder and re-loaded with Earthstock necessities.
Sleeping in until 6AM and out the door by 7:15, caffeine was acquired before set-up began. A windy day and too-large replacement roof made for an interesting time setting up the carport-sized tent- and keeping it from becoming a giant hang-glider. Ziggy and I explored the festival, my kids hooped, drummed, ate, and visited vendors. Haley even sold some of her drawings and bought a beeswax candle with her earnings. By clean-up time, I was beyond tired and very much in pain. By the time we arrived home, it was all I could do to get myself up the steep driveway, the stairs, and to my bed, where I collapsed for an hour and a half before regaining consciousness enough to eat dinner. Ten hours of sleep provided little recuperative benefit.
As for today ... you'll find me curled up in bed under a pile of eight children reading books and doing my best not to move in such away that will anger Sporadic Artie.
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