Teddy is Back

I was watching television today and saw that some sort of Teddy Ruxpin lookalike is now on the market from Playskool. Remember Teddy? That lovable little bear that you'd pop a cassette tape into and he'd tell you a story, moving his eyes and mouth? My sister had one when we were little and she loved him. Well, like any mechanical toy, one day he started to malfunction. I can't remember if he wasn't working properly, or if he quit working altogether. Anyhow, my dad (who can fix just about anything) took it upon himself to fix Teddy. Long story short, to get to the actual mechanics of the bear, he had to remove all his fur. That's when we saw another side to Mr. Teddy Ruxpin. He wasn't cute or cuddly at all! He was downright creepy! That talking bear was nothing more than a hunk of metal and wires with two eyeballs and a mouth. He appeared like a mix between the Terminator and Chuckie (actually, Jenny's My Buddy looked a lot more like Chuckie, but that's a story for another day). Dad never did get Teddy back in working condition, but that's wasn't such bad news. After seeing this new and not-so-cute side to the talking bear, we weren't so keen on having him operable anyhow.

Back to Normal

Well, ILC is finally over (it actually ended last Saturday) and with the conclusion of ILC, it seems life is finally getting back to normal. I took yesterday and today off, so my house is clean and my laundry is caught up. The chaos of meeting planning has died down for now, and in a few days I should stop dreaming about this meeting that has been over for nearly a week.

The best news of all is that Chris is home for good and will begin working with his uncle's company again on Monday. Although he's only been working out of town for about eight weeks, it seems more like eight months. He said he doesn't care if he ever sees the inside of a restaurant again; he is quite tired of eating out.

ILC was quite the success overall. Our speakers were a hit, and every session went off without a hitch. There are always unexpected surprises every year, and this one included a last-minute visit by Senator John McCain during one general session. I'll spare you the details of how all that came about, but two days after he announced his bid for the presidency on David Letterman he was on our stage. He spoke for about ten minutes and did talk a bit about politics and the war in Iraq but not too much. None of our attendees had any idea he would be there, and given his celebrity I think most attendees - Republicans and Democrats - were plesantly surprised.

The final awards event finally ended at 11:08 p.m. on Saturday night (that particular event was supposed to end at 9:30). My guess was 10:58 p.m., so I wasn't far off.

The photo above is a pic of my boss, Teresa, and I testing out the mini bobsled run that our founders rode onto the stage on during the opening ceremonies Thursday morning. It was actually quite fun!

Hugs All Around

Day 2 in Salt Lake City, and many of our 588 franchisees have arrived in town. Nearly all of our conference attendees stay in our HQ hotel (the Grand America) so this place is covered in our folks, and let me tell you you've never seen such a hugging bunch of people. They love to hug! If I even accidentally get within two feet of a fellow Express person you're pretty much obligated to hug. And I'm not exactly the hugging type. But it is so fun to see so many people get together who enjoy each other and are so happy to be here. And I guess when you're that happy, a handshake just doesn't cut it.

Outside the Comfort Zone

Well, it's Day 1 in Salt Lake City, and as always on the travel day for conference we get to do a bit of sight-seeing. One co-worker suggested we go visit the Mormon Tabernacle located downtown, so we did. What we didn't realize was that if you're not Mormon, you don't get to go inside the actual temple, so it was more of a tour about the Mormon faith, it's history, and a soft sell by the Mormon folks.

There are a lot of young people there who are working their 18 months of volunteer work spreading the Mormon faith, and two of these young ladies served as our tour guides. After telling us about the history of their faith, they asked about ours. "What are your beliefs?" they asked. Three of us stood there for a second or two before we mumbled, "Christianity, Church of Christ, Charismatic Christianity, Non-denominational..." She wasn't familiar with any of the non-denominational denominations we blurted out.

"So...do you believe in prophets like we have today?" She was referring to Gordon B. Hinckley (current president of the Latter Day Saints) and the other Mormon prophets before him including Brigham Young and founder John Smith. "Uh..." we looked at each other and another co-worker managed to change the subject or redirect; I dropped to the back of the group.

Two things struck me about this little venture outside of our comfort zone today. One is the way these two young tour guides spoke with such conviction and passion about their faith. They were knowledgable and confident and so eager to share their beliefs. Regardless of the fact that to Christians many of their beliefs are terribly misguided, they stood firm in their faith and their excitement to share that faith with others.

The other and much more bothersome thing about my head-on encounter with this very different faith was how I lacked what these girls had. Have I ever shared my faith with complete strangers? Where would I begin? I certainly wouldn't want to offend anybody or make anyone uncomfortable. Do I speak with excitement and passion when talking about Christianity or what God has done for me lately? Have I spoken at all about what God has done for me lately?

I've grown up in the church all my life. I surround myself with people who share a similar faith, or at the very least don't disagree with mine. Hanging out with Christian family and friends has allowed me to stay within my comfort zone. I've never had to spout my beliefs and why I'm saved because no one has ever challenged me. And if I've seen a challenge coming, I've avoided it.

If I've learned anything today, it is that I need to stop relying on my church or my family to reiterate or outline Christianity for me. I must know it myself. I need to be able to tell others why Jesus is the reason for the hope that lies within me. And I need to be able to do it with confidence. With hope. And with passion.

My Crazy Dream

It's not only my crazy dream, but it's also the one I have the most. It's the same dream; it just changes based on what's going on in my life - the dream that I've forgotten something important. When I was a kid, I dreamed that it was time to go to church camp and I hadn't even started packing. When I was a waitress, I would forget about my tables. When I was getting married, it was my wedding day and nothing was done. You get the picture.

So, now that I'm preparing to go to Salt Lake City tomorrow, I'm packing anything and everything I think I might possibly need to make it a week away from home. Forget the fact that I'm sure there's a WalMart just down the street. I'll end up taking two large suitcases, one carry-on suitcase and my big tote bag with me, while most other co-workers manage to fit everything in one big suitcase and a carry-on.

My fear did actually partially come true this past summer when Chris and I went to Alaska. In our haste to round up our 7 or so suitcases and bags, we left one behind at the airport. Which one, you ask? The one that contained just about every article of warm clothing I had packed. And with a few gift shop purchases and the couple of warm items I had in another bag, I managed just fine. But that hasn't cured my obsession with over-packing.