by Heather Plett | Jun 14, 2006 | Leadership
Meetings are boring, right? Stack up all the meetings you’ve been to in your brain and put the ones that weren’t boring in a separate pile. Makes for a pretty small stack, doesn’t it?
I’ve been to A LOT of meetings. And I mean A LOT. (Thirteen years in the public service and two years in non-profit = approximately 3,987,072 meetings. Don’t ask me how I came up with the number – I just KNOW!) If I could have all the time back I’ve spent in meetings, I could add about 17 years onto my life.
Yesterday I spent all day in meetings. From 7:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night (with a bit of a break for a bike ride and supper). Fortunately, they weren’t the dry, boring kind where you go through your annual budget line by line and decide that if this is what you have to do for the rest of your life, you’d rather poke out your eyes and live the rest of your life in the dark to avoid it.
Trying to look on the bright side, I’m lucky that I get to facilitate more and more of the meetings I have to be part of. That’s good for a few reasons: a.) it’s harder to fall asleep when you’re runnin’ the thing, b) I get to control the agenda, c) I get to throw in fun things now and then, d) I can tell anyone fiddling on their Blackberries to shove them up their @#$%#$, and e) if the finance person wants to pick apart the budget, I can kick her/him out of the room (mwahaha!).
Yesterday, I did one of those fun things that help make meetings at least somewhat less boring. It was one of those brainwaves that strikes you at approximately midnight, the night before a big meeting, when you’re trying to sleep but you can’t help running through the agenda time and time again.
Picture this, 5 respected church elders sprawled out on the floor with old magazines, colourful paper, scented markers, and glue sticks. (Okay, so the truth is, they’re not the kind of elder you might be thinking of – these are the kind of elders that are all way younger than your grandfather – the kind that are hip and fun and they’re not just leaders of your church, they’re the people you like to have over for a bonfire and glass of wine on Friday night. They’re the kind of elders who tell you that their son messed up with the law and has to go to court. The kind that let you know they’re in the middle of a depression and are considering medication. The kind that cry with you when life looks like shit and you can’t find your way out. They’re the kind that SAY shit. The honest, authentic, flawed kind that EVERY church should have.)
So… back to the picture… 5 elders, glue sticks, and pictures torn out of magazines. Out of this moment came 5 beautiful collages, each of them representing someone’s vision of the church. Each one had personality. There was the one with the picture in the centre of a bad-ass kid with a colourful mohawk and an attitude. Another one focused on the different kinds of relationships we all have. On almost every one, the faces were as diverse as a box of new crayons. On one of them, there were words like “hope” and “love” and “community”. On another, the pictures represented the realities of life – the messy stuff that most of us hide – the depressions, the anger, the fear. One of them had a variety of pictures of people expressing themselves in art and music and all kinds of creativity.
It was brilliant. I want to do it at every meeting. I’m just not sure I can convince the board of directors at work to get down on the floor and get glue on their hands.
by Heather Plett | Jun 14, 2006 | Uncategorized
I just needed to ask my husband nicely. 🙂 Came home to a clean house today. Aaahhh…
Yes, I’m lucky. And he’s cute in his little fairy outfit too.
by Heather Plett | Jun 12, 2006 | Uncategorized
Has anyone seen the cleaning fairy? She keeps missing my house and I want to know what’s up. If she comes by your house, can you point her in my direction?
I keep sending her messages through the cosmos telling her my house is just the right house to test out all those new heavy-duty magic potions she’s been dying to try, but she doesn’t seem to get my message. I even leave treats out for her – like the bits of broken cookies on the kitchen floor and the chips my kids left scattered all over the family room last night. But alas, she turns up her nose at my meagre offerings and flutters off somewhere else.
Anyone have any tricks to entice her to visit? I thought perhaps she preferred to work alone, so this afternoon, when the dusting and vacuuming and sweeping and wiping needed doing, I went for a bike ride instead, hoping against hope she’d show up. But of course, nothing. And tonight, when the laundry mountain looked way too imposing to tackle, I wandered off to the playground, thinking the peace and quiet would be just what she was looking for. Sigh. Still nothing.
I’m discouraged. I’ve waited and waited and waited for her. If she takes much longer, I may have to take drastic measures and start cleaning my house mySELF. Sheesh. Cleaning fairy, if you can hear me, PLEASE don’t let it come to that.
by Heather Plett | Jun 10, 2006 | Uncategorized
Well, it was a GREAT party. G.R.E.A.T. I haven’t had that much fun since… I can’t remember when. There was plenty of food. Of the over 100 hot dogs we cooked, only a few shriveled weiners were left (it seems alot of people like weiners without buns, because there were more buns left over than weiners – go figure). I thought I’d run out of chips, but so many people brought chips that I think we had more AFTER the party than we did before. We could have used a bit more pop – I guess I thought “BYOB” meant that people would bring along enough beverages (including non-alcoholic), but we ran a little low.
The fireworks display was a BIG hit. Quite impressive for a backyard party, I’d say. Marcel and Julie got positively giddy when we went to the fireworks store to stock up. Those two are turning into pyrotechnic addicts!
Lots of people showed up. Our best estimate is around 75 people. It turns out that alot of people like us. 🙂 (Or at least we know alot of people that like to party.) I think there was someone there representing nearly every factor of our lives – family, extended families, work, church, school, neighbourhood, kids’ soccer, childhood friends, old workplaces. Wow! What a rush to see so many people gathered who are there because they like you and feel connected to you. Wish you ALL could have been there too!
The weather was awesome – a little cool, but not as cool as we’d feared. There was a great fire in the firepit that warmed up anyone who got cool. The kids had a great time playing soccer and running around in the grass. Every time I looked around, there were lots of great conversations going on, people were laughing and having fun, and nobody really looked left out (at least I HOPE nobody did). People from different parts of our lives were connecting with each other and striking up new friendships. At least one dinner party will result from one of those new friendships, and apparently other phone numbers were exchanged.
Stopping in the middle of the crowd, I looked around and was both humbled and honoured by all the people who had gathered to show us their love and support. There’s something about being in the middle of a crowd of about 75 people who are all connected to you that makes you feel strong – like you can accomplish great things with so many people on your side.
Oh, and we got great loot too. We now have a well-stocked wine cabinet, gift certificates for a few meals out, a night at the movies, cash, and an assortment of other things. Marcel got the iPod he’s been longing for from me and his siblings.
And the pièce de resistance? I GET TO GO SKYDIVING! I guess Marcel’s not TOO worried about me jumping out of a plane, ’cause he bought me a gift certificate! 🙂
So today I’m basking in the glow of a great party, lots of friends, and a night of good conversation and lots of great moments. Sorry I have no pictures to share – I was too busy talking to old friends, keeping the chip bowls stocked, introducing people to each other, hugging people, welcoming newcomers, etc., etc., to think about taking pictures. I didn’t even take the time to eat one of those hotdogs. And today, they just don’t look as appetizing anymore.
by Heather Plett | Jun 9, 2006 | Uncategorized
We’re throwing a big party tonight. An outdoor party. At Marcel’s parents place out in the country. We’ve invited almost everyone we know – work friends, church friends, siblings, cousins and aunts and uncles, friends from old work places, our kids’ friends, neighbours – you name it. It could be 100 people… or it could be 10. Who knows? We didn’t ask for RSVPs.
We’re celebrating Marcel’s graduation and my 40th birthday. But REALLY it’s more about Marcel’s grad, because turning 40 takes NO effort compared to three and a half years in university. He NEVER lets me throw parties in his honour, because he’s an introvert and hates to be the centre of attention. I like throwing parties, but I’ve honoured his request so far. When he started university, he told me that the one and only time I could throw him a party would be for his grad. I never forgot and now I’m holding him to it. In the end, though, the only way he’d agree to it was if I offered to share the spotlight. So, ostensibly, it’s for both of us.
It’s a big party, but because our budget is dreadfully tight, it’s pretty low-brow. No steak or lobsters or even chicken drumsticks on the barbecue. Nope, the best they’re gonna get tonight is hot dogs and chips and cake and ice cream. (Did I scare anyone off yet?)
I have no idea who will come. I have no idea if we have enough food (but, as my sister says “You have ENOUGH. When the food runs out, people are done eating.”) I don’t know if we should have planned entertaining games, or just assumed people will have enough fun just chatting with each other. I went with the latter, ‘cause I couldn’t think of any games and didn’t feel much like planning any anyway.
I didn’t think I was stressed out about it, but last night I lay awake wondering if we’d thought of everything. Weiners? Check. Buns? Pick them up this afternoon. Plates, cups, napkins? Check. Coffee urn? Check. Fireworks? Pick them up this afternoon. Condiments? Check. Table cloth? Check. And the list went on and on through my head.
I suppose, in the end, we’ll be ready. Now if only people will show up and we won’t be left, forlorn and neglected, with 100 hot dogs!
