A reflection in a dirty mirror

Podstock- check- done! And it was a hoot as usual. However reflecting back I found myself then and now focusing on the things that didn't go exactly as planned. Why do we do that to ourselves, expect things to go perfectly when they are being executed by imperfect people and there are so many unpredictable variables involved? I actually find it humorous that this is a tech conference, about learning, exploring, stepping out and experimenting and yet I had a mini-meltdown when a few mistakes were discovered and pointed out. I had to remind myself that things happen and in the grand scheme of amount of "stuff" going on, a few minor errors were nothing, fix them and move on and to not camp on them. I had to remind myself that it's not about the perfection, not about the book being exact, not about the internet running at warp speed and not about whether we have brownies or cookies and most certainly not about if the weather is 720 degrees (or so.) It's about the community of the people, the comraderie, the information, and the knowledge gathering. I absolutely love watching the participants, when a discovery is made, it's like that a child that has been given that first "big" box of crayons. The realization that there are more then the large primary 8 colors and suddenly they can color with lilac, puce or burnt umber.

As I reflect back on Podstock I realize that it could be likened to a reflection in a dirty mirror - the image may not be exact, the details may not all be intact but it is still a perfect reflection.

I think back about 15 years when ESSDACK took a chance on me, hiring me to do office work and be - for lack of a better word- hostess. I am thankful daily they let me experiment and learn and carve out a niche that I absolutely love and enjoy. I think that perhaps looking in a dirty mirror is the best because you can let your imagination fill in the missing details of your reflection and see yourself as the person you were meant to be.