Traveling to SheSpeaks Conference in North Carolina

I headed for Starbucks in Sky Harbor before my flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

I was minding my own business (playing on my iPhone), when someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I knew the time. Turning around, I realized it was a familiar face, a friend from church! Instead of the time, I gave her a giant hug! She asked where I was going, and we discovered that she would be the flight attendant on my flight.

After an hour delay, we boarded and got underway. I got through half of Michael Hyatt’s PLATFORM (highly recommend), and had a nice visit with the flight attendant, then had a little rest before landing.  My bags took forever to arrive (yes, bags in the plural for my 5 days away from home….come on, it’s mostly books!).

My girlfriend Jamie arrived to take me to her home in Wake Forrest, and I was giggling before I even got into the car.  She’s a hoot.  We have been friends for 28 years. And even though we live across the country from each other, it doesn’t take a second to reconnect. She’s a Soul Friend.

After grabbing a pizza and picking up a few groceries, we enjoyed dinner at Jamie’s house. Over salad and pizza, I told her about my upcoming book. Excitedly, I showed her my book proposal. She looked up in the middle of reading it, and asked if my book was going to be 200 words? WORDS.  No, pages. Pages is what I meant to type. We had a good laugh. Now that would be a quick read, a book of 200 words.  Ha!

I took my (heavy and large and plentiful) luggage upstairs and got to see my delightful bed made up by sweet Gemma, Jamie’s eight year old daughter. Tons of blankets and sheets were strewn across it, with a giant teddy bear on top. I was amused. What a sweet girl!

As I unpacked, the girls asked questions about my book. Eventually I offered to read some to them. Laying on the floor in the playroom, I shared the stories about family, friends and marriage. They kept begging me to read more. At least my captive child audience liked my book.

Today we all traveled to Charlotte. Jamie and I and her four girls. We had a pleasant (active) dinner, and only had one minor hiccup on the ride home. Gemma got a pen cap stuck in her cast. Never a dull moment with kids.

Yes, I could have had my own hotel room, but I’m sure I will have much more fun with the Quilici bunch in my room. Jamie and I just traded beds with Bella and Elisa because theirs was too cold near the air conditioner.  It should be an interesting night.

The busyness of my company will hopefully distract me from the butterflies I have about going to the conference. I am thankful that I have a friend that would drive me here and stay with me. What a joy. God always provides. He always equips us for whatever He calls us to do. And He knew it would be best for me to come to this professional conference with my special entourage.

I could have chosen to travel alone, but what fun would that be?