Last year, CFA set our new vision to be "The World's Most Caring Company." Let's just say, they definitely start with us, which I never take for granted. For our annual meeting this year, they chartered the world's two largest cruise ships, and we set sail from Florida to spend some time at sea.
February is always when I start to full-blown hate winter. It is bleak, and this year it's been extra dreary and rainy and ick. Escaping to a tropical wonderland came at just the right time. It has unexpectedly already been a hard year, and this was like balm to our souls. We spent a full day at Royal Caribbean's Island, CoCo Cay, which was a highlight. The weather was perfection, and we spent much of the day wandering the ocean or swinging in a hammock. Amazing.
Even though the company was split in half between the two ships, almost all of our friends ended up on ours, so we got to spend time eating and chatting and laughing and crying in some cases. Many of these relationships are over ten years old, and we've been able to stay up on a lot of life, which I treasure. We also made a few new friends in our very own market, and it's always nice to connect with people who will become part of our local CFA circle.
As a side note, I did not think that this was an overdone amount of jewelry for four days, but apparently, it is more than most people pack. 😂🤣😜
The last two days of the trip were at sea, and one of the days was perfect for spending time by the pool. The other day was gray, and ended up being perfect for napping in our room. We basically ate constantly, which is typical cruise life and then typical CFA event life. I am not complaining, though I could not keep up the habit of six desserts a day once I got home. There were excellent speakers and sessions to attend, and we chose the ones that were most relevant to what we needed.
Last year, we realized that we need a lot more rest than we had been getting, and it is encouraging to get to this year and be in a slightly better place on that front. We have actually practiced going to bed consistently and being more well-rested overall. What we continue to learn is that we have to be the best versions of ourselves to be able to show up in our lives in any meaningful ways for the people around us. When I am sapped dry, I am an angry parent and rather sullen wife. When John is sapped dry, everything is overwhelming.
Our lives continue to be high intensity. I think we've mostly given up the notion that this is short term. This is just our life for the foreseeable future, and if we don't take that seriously and take care of ourselves, we will burn out. And then the things that depend on us will also fall apart. Obviously, that's dramatic, but it's our reality.
Spending time with our greater CFA family is always an encouragement. It's work too - there were conversations that need to be had and dynamics that had to be taken into account. It's not exactly a "vacation," but, it was an excellent break from some of our pressures.
Here are CFA Seminars of the past!
{2019} {2018} {2017} {2016} {2015} {2014} {2013} {2012} {2011}
