Balmy Breezes and Blackberries

We enjoyed a family reunion on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina this week. I'm an introvert so I don't feel comfortable in large gatherings, but Doris and Walter (my in-laws) were clever enough to rent a home with this view out the back window.

Here's a few things that caught my eye or touched my heart on the trip:

• Dolphin swam by the dock every morning to say 'hey' and to remind me that we aren't the only intelligent creatures on this earth. They told me to tell you to break away from your computer every once in a while to step outside and feel the sun on your face.
• Long, uninterrupted, unhurried, unforced, chats with the family. Jim discussed his breakthrough idea about personal growth that he calls "Crisis to Creation." In a nutshell, his principle states that people often need a crisis to force them to abandon their current life course. But once they do, they often find an infinitely more rewarding mission. I know that it is a good idea because I kept asking myself, "Will it take a crisis for me to throw away my Big Blue security blanket and start work on something new?"
• Dad looked great and in the best of health. The walks on the beach gave all of us a little more zip in our step.
• I brought along two emergency beers and they were sorely needed. The risk mitigation planning we do in project management saved me again.

"Key lime pie - a magnificent study in balancing the sour with the sweet."

• My only decision for this week was whether or not I should gobble up real key lime pie or Blackberry ice cream for desert at night. This is the first time in years that I've said "blackberry" and didn't think about something buzzing in my pants.
  
• You had to see Chris, Elke and Doris in the kitchen preparing meals. There was no designated leader just a chaotic symphony of motion that produced consistently excellent meals ... which confirms my premise that mothers make natural project managers. You put my brothers and me in a kitchen with knives and tell us to make something and I guarantee that there is only one person standing at the end of the hour.

It's going to be hard to focus my mind on my October solution launches. I feel slow, lethargic and oh so happy. I think I'll live on virtual island time for a few more days.