I’m not alone in saying that this is a busy summer. Almost everyone I speak with state that they have been busier than usual during this summer. Mine isn’t a complaint; I’m glad to be busy working and playing.
However, looking at the date of my last blog helped me realize how busy I’ve been; the last time I posted anything was Thursday, June 3rd—over five weeks ago. Where did June and the first half of July go? It was a busy few weeks but I didn’t know that it was so busy that I wouldn’t have or take the time to write a blog. I love to write blogs. How and where did I invest my time doing other things?
One major investment I made was to begin a written project, specially a book—a term paper on steroids. After positioning the book, I created the outline and drafted the preface and introduction. Built around the experiences and results of teaching at CUNY, I will be the editor for contributions from my current and former students who are working to be leaders. My return is not financial as much as how the book evolved to become a platform to share the insights and knowledge gained from my experiential approach to student learning.
Hendersons in the Merced River under El Capitan in Yosemite National Park
Another investment of time was spent at the Henderson Family Reunion in Tuolumne County, California. My niece Dr. Tomi Sue Henderson hosted the event and prepared amazingly delicious food for our big family dinner in her backyard—as well as our picnic in Yosemite National Park. It was great to get together with relatives, some of whom I hadn’t seen for a few years. One of my nephews and his wife brought their four children who range in age from two- to eight-years-old. We had a lot of fun together taking a train ride with an engine that used to pull passenger cars through the Gold Country in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Strolling for 1.5 miles through the Calaveras Big Trees, the Hendersons saw two groves of giant sequoia redwood trees, some of which are 2,000 to 3,000 years old, 250 to 300 feet high, and 25 to 30 feet across.
What else did I do? Coach executives, meet with colleagues, manage administrative matters that include dealing with computer challenges that take days to resolve and taking more days to learn how to use my new iPad, and, at the same time, continue my professional development! My “other career” is going to be as a Pilates instructor and, to formalize my seven years of taking over 1,000 classes, I participated in a 2.5 day Beginners Mat Certification Program last weekend (my results will be in the mail in a few weeks).
There’s been more. Another five-session program of “Supercharge Your Career” at Zicklin just finished; it was a fabulous class because of the extraordinarily supportive, focused, and engaged participants. Last week, I started teaching “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” during Zicklin’s second summer session—a class that meets three nights a week! The second summer session of “Supercharge Your Career” is set to start this Tuesday evening and end on August 17—adding a fourth night to my teaching.
