Catching Up Is Hard To Do

Just got in the door from the Phoenix conference some 15 minutes ago and am already fully unpacked (with the suitcase back in the closet where it will remain until a week from tomorrow) with conference-related materials repacked to go to into the office tomorrow.

That was the easy part. 85 unread e-mails in my personal Gmail is something else again. Between no Internet access during the conference (except when I could slip away to the nearby Starbucks or to my room), the work e-mails that needed attention, the receptions & group dinners, writing my Tuesday afternoon talk and a powerpoint for this morning's teleconference... there was very little time for personal business.

I see I have a LOT of catching up to do, and there are several church-related e-mails to read still. One I have already read corrects an error on the website: Womens' Night out is Saturday the 6th, not Wednesday the 10th. (I believe I need to be at the airport early Saturday morning for my trip to Germany; it looks like a long day for Kathy.)

The sad part of it all is that when I turned on the computer the editor was still up with the last changes to the website, and sitting right next to the keyboard was Evelyn Underhill's book Abba (from Saturday's retreat) where I had it for reference in the previous posting. Saturday seems like an eternity ago, the slower pace of the day completely forgotten, and I can just hear our friend/guest-speaker admonishing me.

The book is small enough; maybe I'll slip it in my pack for the next trip. I'll certainly have time enough for reflection while seated aboard airplanes.