Filling Time: TwinLife Empty-Nesting

November is always a full month, and this year was particularly busy. I spent the first weekend with my son, the second weekend with my daughter, and this past weekend with my professional family at a conference in Denver. I’m currently reflecting on my last week from a hotel room in Virginia, where I’m waiting to drive my son home for Thanksgiving.

I’m tired.

I was tired even before I got on the plane to Denver last Wednesday. I’ve had a lot going on at work that required a lot of time, and I was facing six presentations ahead of me at the conference. Prepping for them had also required time, so I had basically filled most of my time in November outside of my weekend trips with work – something I have been trying not to do in my empty-nesting life.

But last Wednesday was a travel day, and I committed to myself that after I cleared out my email and spent a few hours collating my professional notes from the past few weeks, I would enjoy the day as much as possible, focusing on the little moments more than on the jobs to be done.

Here are some of those moments:

• Brittany, our flight purser, clearly loved her job. She used the cabin phone like a microphone, her hands as emotional magic wands, and her voice as a mood lifter. Her partner Takako was Robin to her Batman. It was one of the most enjoyable flight experiences I’ve had, even though I spent most of the flight collating those notes!
• The weather in Denver was lovely when I landed, and the rooftop bar at my hotel presented me with a view that made me smile.
• I had one of the best drinks I’ve ever had as I chatted with a friend on that rooftop. I liked it so much that I went back later in the weekend with a different friend and had it again.
• I met up with some extended family members who are definitely “my people.”
• My friends and I stepped out of the conference and into a Bluegrass jam session that was inspiring.
• I wandered the city with a former student and again with friends I typically only see once a year – at this conference – yet somehow they are family. Denver was decorated for Christmas, and it was magical.
• While waiting for my plane home, I met Graeme (pronounced Graham), a precocious five-year-old who definitely knows how to spell his name. He and I became buddies pretty quickly, which gave his mom a short breather. It felt good to give her that peace, and I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Graeme.

I got home around midnight on Sunday and then left yesterday morning with my daughter on a road trip to pick up my son, closing out nearly a week of small moments that helped fill my time within an otherwise professionally dominated space. And now I can relish in the time I will have with my kiddos for a few days. I don’t feel quite so tired today. The infusion of TwinLife is just what I needed.