I’m traveling, for work as usual, which means this post is from St. Louis. Being in St. Louis means I get to be face-to-face with clients for at least a full day — and it’s a FULL day, too. It also means I get to pack the time with colleagues and, if I’m lucky, I get to see a few friends too.

Last night, I had dinner with friends/colleagues and today was a back-to-back-to-back marathon of clients; a fantastic, energizing (but, admittedly exhausting) experience.

Two real treats at the end of the day: dinner with this guy, who will be meeting with our firm tomorrow, and post-dinner, a gathering with the crew for sushi in St. Peters (yeah, I KNOW, scary, huh? I just had a Coke — I have too big a day tomorrow to risk being sick.)

Last night, a young woman named AMBER came to our door. She had a lanyard nametag with a photo and introduced herself as AMBER. She said it just like that: I’m AMBER. Like she thought I might be deaf. Or had recently arrived from a foreign country.

She said something about the kids’ schools and how she was introducing parents in the area to a handbook the kids would be using. She mentioned my neighbor, to whom she’d been talking. I was temporarily confused and thought the schools had sent her around to survey us, to inform us . . . or something. So when she asked if there was someplace we could sit down and talk, I let her in.

Foolish me.

So at our kitchen table, she told me again that her name is AMBER. She finally asked my name. I gave her a different one, because I’m ornery like that. I knew already I wasn’t buying what she was selling; picking up what she was laying down.

She started asking about the kids’ progress in school, making notes in a notebook. She told me about her college and that this door-to-door gig is her summer job. She asked if we ever have trouble helping the kids with homework. I said, between the two of us, indicating my husband in the other room, we’ve pretty much got it covered.

Then she offered to show me THE BOOK. I was curious, at this point to see what my neighbor had allegedly purchased. She pulled out of her backpack a giant encyclopedia reference book-type thing. It was a monster. She said, “This book is a guide to everything your children will learn from elementary school till college.”

Hahahahaha . . . ha.

I said, “We would never, ever use that. In fact, that seems like a real throwback to me.” I stopped, just short of saying, “Ever hear of the INTERNET?”

So I was polite as I kicked her out, because she really made a huge mistake in choosing her summer job. She could have waited tables. She could have worn a nametag in any retail establishment and been treated better, made more money. And she still could have told hundreds of people that her name is AMBER.

Charlottesville parents: beware of this pseudo-scam; the books are not endorsed by the schools, the salespeople are not affiliated with the schools, and they will lead you to believe they are. In addition, they’re tracking which homes in the area have children living in them, something I find quite creepy.

• Taught me, among many things, how to be forgiving, perhaps the most important thing of all.
• Demonstrated the value of developing relationships with people who are not like you.
• Supported me, even when she probably thought I was making a mistake.
• Said, about work, “Make a game out of it!” often enough that I actually do it, now.
• Is beautiful.
• Has deep faith I admire.
• Actually thinks I’m funny.

Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom.

Love,

Your favorite daughter (I’m KIDDING!)

There may be something wrong with the boy’s foot. I mean, other than it’s flat and a size 15. He’s had a pain in it for a couple of days. There’s no apparent injury so we’re puzzled and keeping an eye on it. He’s been obsessing, as he’s wont to do (wonder where he gets that?).

The boy: So this guy at school has the exact same thing with his foot.

Me: Oh yeah?

The boy: Yeah, and he went to the doctor and had X-rays and mammograms on it.

Me: Mammograms, huh?

The boy: Yeah.

Me: You know that’s not the right word, right? Because if you have a boob growing out of your foot, then we’ve really got something to worry about.

I’m not one of those people who love to fly. In fact, in the air, particularly upon descent, I am one of those people convinced she’s about to die. My stomach has not butterflies, more like hummingbirds or no, bats; yes, I have bats in my stomach. I break into a cold sweat. I get religion. I write my mental will. My heart rate increases and I wait, wait, with measured breaths, until we’re safely on the ground. I wonder how people do it all the time and then realize I’m one of those people, making approximately 10, 800 mile round trips per year.

Why do I do it? In a word, relationships. I love my job, and flying makes it possible to succeed in my career. In person time with clients and colleagues cannot be substituted with only conference calls and e-mails. My family and friends, too are part of why I fly. I get to see some of each every time I travel and that is another reason.

I’d endure far more uncomfortable situations to get to any of them.

But sometimes, particularly on descent, I wish I could just teleport.

• The boy has quit his job at the best store, ever. His reason? He plans to get nothing less than an “A” for the rest of his high school career so he can go to the college of his choice. He’ll go back to work this summer.
• The girl has impressed me with making dinner, baking brownies, practicing piano and recorder and “wearing something nice” (without being asked) to go to her brother’s band concert (at which she managed to stay awake).
• The husband has returned after an eight-day absence (fishing trip) and he was missed.
• The dog smells like ham (a bath was cut short by Niagra Falls occuring from the kitchen ceiling).
• My sister went on safari in South Africa! How cool is THAT?
• My other sister is going to Vegas this weekend and says she’s not getting married there (you never know).
• My dad is making progress on his movie. No, he’s not in this one, like he was in this one.
• My mom won $100 at a church event. Who says faith doesn’t pay?
• I’m headed to the ‘Lou tomorrow with a perfect balance of work, family and friends on the agenda.