Office Space

Christopher is moving up in the world. His responsibilities are growing at work, and prospects are opening up with each new day. He recently made a strategic career move by transferring to a new division within the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC - part of the Department of Defense). While nothing has changed in his externals (he still sits at the same desk) the job he is doing (at that same desk) is constantly throwing him curve balls. Christopher thrives on challenge and change - together they make a heady cocktail for success. Meeting with high-level executives and briefing department chiefs are fast becoming norms in his business day. His supervisor recognized his need for more versatility from standard government protocol, and assigned him a Blackberry and laptop to help facilitate efficacy in and out of his office.

Our family has also seen some changes as a result of his new position. The introduction of travel to the East Coast for week-long business meetings was thought to be temporary when he first accepted the transfer. We now understand it to be much more permanent in nature, and are preparing for the long haul with bi-monthly trips to D.C.; Boyers, Pennsylvania; and both Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. A significantly more exciting change is the decision Christopher made to go back to school, and earn his Masters. He enrolled in National Defense University, and will begin classes this fall!

We felt like all this elbow-rubbing with the big-wigs deserved a more dedicated place for work at home. He needed space to comfortably make long-distant conference calls to colleagues in D.C., and the privacy for dedicated focus on high-profile projects. We made the plunge, sacrificed in-demand space and created Christopher's new home office. We put together his desk, network connectivity, phone system and computer so that he can easily access his work from the comforts of our home.

I really think it's a fantastic solution.

Baseball

Caleb finished his first official season of baseball. He exuberantly reminded us of every practice, every game. We knew that he would probably enjoy himself, but we weren't expecting him to be so naturally gifted at the sport. It made it all the more pleasurable for us to watch each week as he grew in his hitting capabilities. His fielding still needs quite a bit of polishing. In tee-ball the definition of, "call it" means everyone screams in unison, throwing punches if another fielder (especially the fielder who would naturally have the right of way in the play) dares to catch the ball. One play saw Caleb, positioned as pitcher, fling himself onto a throng of boys trying to snatch a ball from a fellow teammate in left field.

Left. Field.

I played ball for a few years, and am pretty sure that the pitcher doesn't ever back-up the left fielder. Perhaps I misunderstood my son's noble intentions.

On the sidelines we laughed ourselves to tears watching the players swing at anything resembling a baseball; lolligag to first base and then sit upon the bag; converse so intently with the opposing team's 3rd baseman that the runner was passed by his own teammate on the way home; and run in circles to avoid being tagged out. It was great fun, and every week we looked forward to bundling the family up for another game. We are excited for next year!