One Of Those Days

Today was one of those days. No, not one of THOSE days. It was one of those days you savor, like a fine wine. It was good.

It started, as all our days do, very early in the morning. Joyce went to work in downtown Seattle and I got to work at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. On the way in I stopped at a Starbucks in Issaquah and ran into none other than the legendary Dick Foley. For the uninitiated, Dick was a familiar face on KOMO TV in Seattle back in the 80s and 90s. But before then he was one of the wonderful voices of The Brothers Four, an incredibly popular folk group of the 50 and 60s. I’m happy to say he still looks great and that melodious voice of his is as smooth as ever.

After that, I arrived at The Slough and went through my normal routine of online duties. Managed to help a few fans of Pacific Science Center (where I work), contributed to an ongoing discussion of how to help people, linked up with some people I haven’t heard from in years, and handled a bunch of other issues related to work. All in all, it was a rewarding time. But at the end of my shift I spent about 45 minutes hiking around The Slough and that’s what capped off a great day.

I scored two geocaches, something I’ve become obsessed with as we prepare for a new exhibit at Pacific Science Center this spring. Just hiking around the Mercer Slough Park is rewarding, but finding some caches while you do it is great. Plus, the weather was outstanding! After all the recent snow and rain and flooding, walking around in cold, sunny weather was intoxicating.

Then I came back to Pacific Science Center’s offices at The Slough and had a short, impromptu brainstorming session with some co-workers. My job is to tell the stories of what our people do. Since they spend their time teaching young students how to care for the environment, and then teach others how teach even more people about the same, it’s a great story to tell. Listening to our people talk about what they do was rewarding and renewing. I never tire of it. I came away with new story ideas and an even deeper appreciation for what our organization stands for.

Today is Thursday where I am. Tomorrow is a day off without pay for me. It’s all part of our organization’s painful efforts to deal with the economic realities of this time. That includes layoffs that mean we no longer get to work with some very talented folks. But going through my routines on this day reaffirmed my love of what we do, of my belief in our commitment to lifelong learning, and my desire to try to help others on a daily basis. It’s a simple thing, but enjoyable and rewarding. Today was a great day for me. Hope yours was as well. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be. Let’s make it so.