Life on the Road. Reflections on the First Week.

We left home on Monday morning.  Today marks the end of the first week of what is known, at least by Al and his coworkers, as the Road Show.

We spent Monday afternoon in the office.  Al spent his time getting everything together to begin training sessions on Tuesday.  I spent my day huddled in an empty cubicle, drinking Diet Coke and reading.  We checked into our hotel that evening and were upgraded to a very nice suite.  If this continues, I could really enjoy life on the road!

Trainings began on Tuesday, and went well from what I've heard.  I spent the day relaxing at the hotel.  (Being a Road Show assistant is, after all, a tough job!)

Wednesday we checked out of the hotel and went back to the office for the final training session there.  I helped set the room up, and then sat in the back corner, doing some more reading, taking some photos (it's part of my "job"), and just observing the goings-on in the room.  The session ended at noon, we packed everything up and loaded it all into the van, then set out for Nashville, our next destination.

Eventually, mid-afternoon, we stopped for some lunch at a Cracker Barrel.  To the great surprise of many of my friends, I did not eat pancakes! 

We arrived in Nashville and got checked in.  There had been some confusion and miscommunication about this hotel.  You'll be here.  No, you'll need to stay there.  No, you're going to be back here.  Eventually that got sorted out and we checked in here at the Inn at Opryland.  It's across the road from the much larger and much more expensive Opryland Hotel.  No suite here.  A much smaller room, which we have filled up with our stuff, and really slow internet.  Oh, the frustrations of modern life!

The best part of this leg of the trip has been spending time with our friends Bill and Jean.  After yesterday morning's set-up, I spent the entire day with them, and then we all had dinner together last night.  I'm looking forward to more together-with-friends times today.

Tomorrow we will leave here and make our way to Jackson, Mississippi, the next stop on this traveling Road Show.

This first week has been a week of adjustments.  Adjusting to living out of a suitcase.  Making adjustments in how we have things loaded into the van, tweaking that a bit to be sure we can easily get to the things we most need when we need them.  Adjusting to a new time zone.  Al making a few adjustments to how he presents the material.  Checking schedules and hotel arrangements, and adjusting those where necessary.

Adjustments are part of life, whether you're part of a traveling Road Show or not.  Things don't always go according to plan.  People don't always do what you think they will or what you might think they should or what you might wish they would.  The weather doesn't always cooperate.  There are many variables built into the fabric of daily living.  And sometimes we have to make adjustments.  It's all part of life.

The attitude with which we make those adjustments is the key.  Keeping a positive attitude.  A smile on your face. Apologizing when necessary.  Not being too quick to place blame.  Just dealing with things that happen and moving on.  It's the key to success in life.  Especially life on the road.


"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, dwell on these things."  (Philippians 4:8 NASB)