On Being Loved

This afternoon I came home from my first professional conference.  Like many conferences that you hear about or see in movies, it was put on by an organization with a long and easy-to-forget acronym (AAWCC), and it's held at an airport hotel in one of those large, beige ballrooms.  But it was actually wonderful and action-packed.  AAWCC stands for the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, and surrounding myself with hundreds of women in my field was inspiring, motivating, and fun.  Some of the women there were total powerhouses, and they served as not-too-subtle reminders that it is imperative that I follow in their footsteps.  Not only for self-gratifying purposes, but because the country desperately needs well-qualified people leading its public schools.  Did you know that the United States is the only country where there is a regressive attainment of college degrees?  In other words, people are getting fewer degrees than their parents got.  In other words, we are getting less educated.  Which is not the case for any other developed nation.  

So I drove home with my colleague-- like me, a young, starry-eyed and ambitious lass-- and we spent the whole time figuratively, excitedly, rolling up our sleeves for the arduous careers ahead of us.  

And what did I find waiting for me?  Love and friendship coming at me on all sides.  Whoever said that there is no rest for the weary must not have been lucky enough to have loved ones.  For one, my sweet Adam had gone grocery shopping and cooked a lovely and healthy meal for us, consisting of stuffed roasted bell peppers and steamed artichokes.  You can see him below, chopping away.  Check out his new buzz cut!

And prior to that, I came home from a dog walk to find this lovely Crock Pot sitting on my front doorstep!  It came from my new friend Lynne, who had mentioned earlier in the week that she had seen a couple of these handy appliances on sale on our local classified webpage.  What with my plans for the conference and a day of feeling under the weather, I wasn't able to respond to the seller and figured I'd probably lose out.  But lucky me!  I've got a friend, a Crock Pot fairy, who doesn't want me missing out on a winter full of stews and soups.  So if you've got any good Crock Pot recipes, please let me know.