“Daddy grew up a dairy farmer’s son. He remembers waking at 4am each morning to go milk the cows before walking about a mile for school. He tells all kinds of fun stories about growing up a farm kid. His Aunt Juanita gave him some of her admired iris bulbs one spring after Sunday dinner. He carefully planted them on the hillside of the old homestead. I now have some of those very bulbs that a sweet, hard-working eight year old little boy planted in Kirkwood, TN. They smell heavenly and are a delicate hue of lavender with the palest shade of yellow beards. Each spring as they bloom, I look out my kitchen window and say a little prayer of gratitude for that little boy.” This I wrote last winter as I was planning for the New Year. Yesterday, as I was planting a few flowers I turned around and there she was! My little collection of Daddy’s iris had made it through another winter. Pank pointed out that most of my spring flowers are all shades of lavender. The wisteria, lilacs, rosemary and iris all have lavender blooms.
I had never recognized my spring yard was lavender. It took a different perspective and a new pair of eyes to see the obvious. In our professional world, we also need an occasional fresh perspective. It keeps us grounded and relevant. If every time you did something stupid, someone slapped you, would you not stop doing that something stupid? This, my friends, is what I like to call a mentor. By engaging with my friends and colleagues, I have a small group of “board members.” Shhh…they don’t know they are on the board, but I am forever grateful to have mentors that offer insight, knowledge and support!
Try to learn something new every chance you get. Here are just a few local sources for learning new things and engagement!
- The Skillery From Canning to building a Word Press sight, this is a great creative outlet!
- The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Their tagline is “belong, engage, lead, prosper.” There are many ways that The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has promoted good business in Middle Tennessee. Come with me to one of their events soon!
- Pod Camp 2013 First held in Nashville in 2008, PodCamp is a forum for bloggers, marketers, content creators, educators, podcasters and the like to gather, network and learn about the latest trends, tricks and technologies in the interactive world. (This Saturday, May 4!)
- The UT Extension Office I know I talk about these guys a lot, but they are just a wonderful resource for anyone interested in their food chain!
