As the
alarm rings at 5:30am, I sluggishly climb out of bed and feel my way through
the darkness to the bathroom. However, just as I’m about to turn on the shower,
I hear the baby fussing. After changing her diaper and lulling her back to
sleep, I find myself running late—I have a meeting at 6:30am. I shower and
shave, put on a shirt and tie, and say a prayer to start the day. A little
exasperated at this point, I open the garage door only to find a little boy tugging
my pants and asking for food because he didn’t eat enough dinner last night. I give
him an apple, send him back to bed, and kiss my wife goodbye.
The action
begins immediately. A short 30-minute executive team meeting is followed by a
90-minute meeting with other organizational leaders. Afterwards, I spend
several minutes greeting organizational members and taking care of other
matters. Then the main one-hour meeting happens with 250 organizational members
in attendance. I’m in charge of conducting this meeting, and even after all my
public speaking experience, I still have butterflies in my stomach.
Well, that
might actually be hunger that I’m feeling. In my rush to get out the door this
morning, I didn’t eat anything for breakfast. I didn’t have time to pack a
lunch either, so it looks like I’ll just have to wait until dinner to eat.
We hold
another couple of meetings, each lasting an hour. Then I have short visits with
a few different people. In some of these meetings I extend new work
assignments. In others, I check on the progress they’re making in their
responsibilities or I visit with people who are facing significant challenges.
I do my best to be an understanding and supportive leader, but sometimes it’s
hard to know if I’ve said the right thing.
By the
afternoon, it’s time to wrap things up. We need to work on finances and budgeting,
update other organizational records, and make a few phone calls. Then it’s time
to leave the office and make a couple of visits to members of the organization
at their homes. I arrive home a little after 3:30, tired from the day’s
activities and anxious to finally be with my family. I know I’ll be working
more hours during the week. But for now, I’ll enjoy my time at home.
 |
| Relaxing with my girls after a long and wonderful Sunday |
