What I Missed, Why I Missed It ...

This week we will sleep in seven different hotels. We will spend hours in the car driving through all kinds of weather. We will eat food that is available rather than food we want. All of this is just part of the job when you travel for work. People often say that they would love to travel for work and neither Joe or I do anything more than nod - we recognize it's a romantic notion that travelling for work is glamorous. It isn't, it's arduous. Don't get me wrong, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that I have the opportunity to get up in front of people and share my ideas and experiences. I take the responsibility which goes with that very, very, seriously.

But ...

And it's a big but ...

There is a cost to what we do. Last night I missed Vita's annual holiday party. I missed the one opportunity I have in the year to be with hundreds of our staff on a social basis. I have really enjoyed these in the past and as we were driving last night, through snow and roads that were becoming increasingly icy, I would check my watch to make sure I caught the time the party started. I'm not sure anyone noticed but when it was due to begin I closed my eyes and sent warm wishes to those arriving in the cold. I said a prayer that all would be safe there and on their journeys home. It wasn't much, but it was all I could do.

I am fortunate, very fortunate, to have a strong team in my department. They are a group of some of the most talented people I know. They are all thoroughly competent, they are all incredibly kind, they are all, each of them, willing to pick up any slack that's left when I'm away for a period of time. We stay in contact through email and, when necessary, through phone calls - but I know it's not the same. I try to be a support, at a distance, and across time zones, and for the most part, because they are who they are, it works.

Equally I am blessed by having a good solid relationship with the other directors, and ED, who keep me informed and involved over the time that I am away. They both understand and encourage me to continue to travel, and learn and bring back amazing ideas that I get from my experience with others. Learning always flows both ways. It's astonishing to have this level of support.

It was hard, though, last night. Sitting in a hotel eating delivery food and watching television in a hotel missing people that I am honoured to know and even more honoured to work with.

I wasn't there in body.

But I was there in spirit.

I hope that my presence was felt but not missed.

Today we get in the car again, heading to another hotel in another city. I hope what we do, out here, matters. I hope that the keynote I gave yesterday will have made a difference. I hope the work, upcoming, will create better service for those with disabilities.

It's this hope that has me here, in the early morning darkness, thinking about both what I missed and about the honour it is to have the opportunity and support needed to try, in my own small way, to make a difference.