Usually you work hard and get rewards for that work. Sometimes you don't. And sometimes you work hard and get rewards that don't have anything to do with your hard work - just because you are THERE.
Today I spent a couple of hours in my annual ritual of taking down my hop vines and weaving them into wreaths. It was a cold, wet, afternoon in Seattle. The wreaths will look real nice when they dry out and we use them over the holidays, but it was hard, cold, wet work. And the rewards are still a long way off.
Suddenly there was an encounter between two male Anna's hummingbirds - right over my head. There was a lot of noise and big aerial displays. I was standing in the middle of it. Having just taken a picture of the wreaths, I had my camera ready, and grabbed several fun shots of these beautiful birds (they live year round in Seattle). The fun lasted a good 15 minutes.
What a treat. Sometimes you just need to work hard, and good things happen - because you are THERE.
I am hoping those who worked so incredibly hard to put on the K12 Online Conference will experience some of those sweet, coincidental rewards. Lots of people work very hard, and expect rewards for that work. Some just work hard on something because they believe in what they are doing. Today I made wreaths. For the past month, the organizers of that conference have made bouquet after bouquet - brightening the lives of many, many people.
I do hope good things come their way. I will write more about the conference soon.
Technorati Tags: k12online06 k12online
2 comments:
What a beautiful sentiment Mark. This time is a kind of "afterglow" as Sheryl wrote in her blog. Mostly positive feedback.
Some of the early negative comments felt like a sucker punch -- they came out of nowhere and caught us completely be surprise. Lots of people got hurt ... many who weren't even involved in K12 Online.
After all that, a post like yours comes along ... and we can enjoy a brief afterglow ... thanks Mark.
How cool! Thanks for sharing the story and pics of the wreaths and hummingbirds. And thank you more for your kinds words.
Your presentation and moderation added such value to our efforts Mark. Thanks for giving so freely.
I look forward to collaborating on future projects.
Post a Comment