Changes

No, not like David Bowie Chhhhhanges.  Changes in plans.  Life getting in the way of life.

Hubby and I left the house around 5:30pm last evening to take the pup, and ourselves, for a walk.  We had a wonderful little jaunt, until I got freaked out because of some tracks we saw which hubby said he thought belonged to a bear!  A bear!?  For gods sake, it's dusk, we're 2kms from the car and you tell me those are bear tracks!  Then the dog starts barking like a maniac at nothing (that we could see) in the woods ahead of us. I'm getting more scared by the second, I swear my heart rate increased ten-fold and I'm wearing my Alegraia open-backed clogs, so running is out of the question.  I walk, really fast.

Phew, made it back to the get-away Honda in the nick of time!  Not really, but exaggeration is good isn't it?  I'm not entirely convinced we saw bear tracks but there was definitly something about and I was not going to stick around to find out what it was.  Jane of the Jungle I am not, and really, what is a 15lb Mini Daushund and an ex body builder in flip flops going to do to save me from said bear?

So, changes.  Changes in evening plans, changes in weekly plans.

When we finally arrived home (stopping on the way to pick up something for dinner, no not fast food) we opened the door to the phone ringing.  I ran (sure I can run for that) and grabbed it and saw it was a co-worker of mine.  He was calling to ask if I had read the email that had come in from our boss around 6pm.  Nope, computer and blackberry are both shut down for the evening. 

"Oh" he says.  "When are you in NY?'

I respond, "From the 1st to the 7th.  Why?"

"We have to be in Montreal for the morning of the 8th" he announces.

"WHAT?"

We end our conversation, I boot up my computer and low and behold, there is the email.  Seems the entire sales team for eastern Canada are meeting in Montreal on the 8th for at least three days!  My heart drops to my feet.  Seriously.

Not only is it 12 hours after my return from a week away - it's 3 days away from my parents whom I see literally once a year.  Twice if I'm lucky, like this year.  They are staying with us until the 11th.  Add insult to injury, my children are turning 16 that same week, on the 10th (hence the reason for my mom and dad extending their time away).  With any luck, I'll be back on the 10th in time to celebrate with them and get to spend the 11th at home with my entire family, before mom and dad fly out at 11pm (on the 11th day of the 11th month...weird).

Ho hum.  I shouldn't complain about having a job that takes me places and what-not.  But of all the weeks in the calendar - why this one, why now?  My mom is going to be really dissapointed.  I'm not even going to tell her, it'll ruin her trip.  I'll wait until we are enroute back home before I announce "oh yeah, I have to leave at 4:30am tomorrow to catch a flight to Montreal, you don't mind spending 3 days alone do you?"

"Oh, and kids, I may not be here for your 16th birthday."

I am a true beliver in "family first", I'll put my family before anyone and anything.  But how do I manage this one?  I'm told we have to be in Montreal for this sales meeting, there are people coming from the US for it (big freakin deal).  Kinda difficult when most of these people work 23 hours a day, take their spouses on one vacation a year and can't understand why we don't answer emails after 5pm.  As it turns out, my co-worker's baby daugter (she isn 't one yet) is starting her first week at day care the same week!  Now that is heart-breaking.

Changes.  It's what life is all about isn't it?  Too bad so many of them suck.

“Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.”

Robert C. Gallagher