Inspired

How many people can say I get to go to work today! Not I have  go to work, or a heavy sigh of getting up in the morning to do the routine all over again, but being excited to go to work?
   I can honestly say that. I get to to work today!  I love my job!
I feel inspired. And today's blog entry may sound more like a journal entry. To some, it may sound like a person rambling off about life. But if you know me, I hope that my excitement and passion can jump across the page and touch you somehow. Perhaps inspire you.
 Because that is what I felt yesterday in my job, and many days really, but especially yesterday. Yet finding the right words to describe it is difficult to pinpoint.
  I work in event planning, but specifically, planning a marathon. One of the county's largest, even. I am passionate about running. I love what it does for each person. I enjoy working hard on something all year and then watching it unfold all in one day.
 But sometimes, the closer an event you've been working to plan all year rolls around, the more stress that can come with it. After all, you want everything to be perfect. And of course, there are always politics of some sort that go with a large event. And at this point, most of the staff is in high gear mode and tired, too.
  But Yesterday, I had the privilege to go alongside my friend and boss and listen to him speak to a group of people about our event.
 We went to a Rotary. Who even knows what a rotary is?? To be honest, I sat through an entire Rotary meeting yesterday at this speaking engagement, loved it, but walked away still not knowing what one is! However, it was a moment of inspiration. A pause in time, even.
  The people there were so outgoing and friendly. They sang songs, which came as an unexpected surprise to me. Songs that even took me back into my childhood because they were songs Mom would sing to us. It was strange how these old school songs no one knows, I didn't even have to look at the screen to know the words. A song about "hello" where they all walked around, shaking hands and greeting us as guests. A song about peace on earth. And as a tribute to our organization, the United States Air Force, they even sang the Air Force song. It was truly a moment in time to almost pause and remember why what we do is important. Why it matters. Sometimes in the daily grind of planning or of life's events outside of work, remembering how much fun what I get to do can get shuffled in the details.
   And then I listened to Rob speak. I asked to go along to this event with him because I want to learn. I have my own event I work on through the year, and now getting the privilege of doing this as a career is helping fuel my passion of my own 5K. I wanted to learn from him. When he got up and spoke, he had everyone's attention. His excitement radiated into the crowd, his energy punctuated with every word he spoke. He didn't say anything life changing, but when he spoke about the marathon, the chaos of the latest moments faded into the distance. The excitement of what we get to do permeated the room. The passion of our job filled the moment instead of the politics behind last minute details. The room was hanging on his every word. I have never not liked my job. I always have enjoyed it since the very first day I started. But like I said, sometimes it's easy to get caught up in my own life itself or in nitty gritty moments and lose a bit of the radiating joy of what I get to do.
  Listening to him speak, and then being alongside for conversations with people afterwards was inspiring. Silly as it may sound, I was even in a moment of near tears once simply because as I listened, I felt so lucky to be a part of all he was sharing. I never would have guessed I would have such an awesome job. And I cannot wait for race day to be here.
 On top of the marathon event, my own 5K will follow just a few weeks after. And just as the chaos of the marathon can happen weeks leading up to it, so does the chaos of a smaller event which I put on. And I feel that just as much, probably even more because it is my event. But stepping out into the rotary club, being amidst these people with their nearly old school ways, and learning from and listening to my boss, the fire felt reignited. I have the best job in the world. I work with an amazing staff and my boss is a great mentor to me. And i wouldn't trade it for anything. And I am drinking up the lessons like a thirsty person in the desert.
 I'm inspired. And I want to inspire just the same.