The first couple days were odd not having the kids around but we knew they were going to have a blast at Grammie and Papa's. After we got Kherby the dog situated in the Bunk N Biscuit (http://www.mybunknbiscuit.com/), it was our turn to pack up and head out for Vegas for 6 days. The last time we visited was for my surprise birthday present to Kurt for his 30th (nearly 7 years ago). Attending the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) annual conference is inspiring. It truly is among the best for diabetes professionals and while it was difficult leaving Kurt to have his own fun during the day, I found the sessions, exhibits, and poster sessions to be well worth it. The main reason I chose a career in dietetics was to help people improve the quality of their lives through good nutrition. At times I tend to lose sight of that goal. Being in more administrative and management positions have left me feeling more like a firefighter than a counselor on most days. This week was a good reminder of the satisfaction I feel from helping others improve their health and more specifically, their diabetes.
90% of the sessions I attended contibuted to professional and personal growth. There were two speakers in particular that I will especially remember from the conference. The first was Dr Nat Strand. She is an anesthesiologist in southern California and was on the first all female team to win the Amazing Race reality show (with her friend Kat, also an anesthesiologist). The most inspiring part of Nat's story was that she overcame the many challenges of the race that covered over 25 countries in 22 days as a Type 1 diabetic. Her talk was from the patient's perspective and she gave a wonderful analogy of how living with diabetes is somewhat like the Amazing Race where you are faced with roadblocks and challenges each day.
The second speaker was a Washington Post columnist named Jeffrey Zaslow who was the co-author with Dr. Randy Pausch of the Last Lecture. It's a beautiful testimony of a Carnegie Mellon University professor who spent the last few months of his life after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer capturing what he believed to be the most important life lessons for his three young children in a "last lecture" and book. Opposed to most individuals who would struggle with a "why me?" mentality, Randy embraced the short time he had left before he died with a philosophy of "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." If you haven't read the Last Lecture, you most definitely have to pick it up.
After the talk, Jeffrey Zaslow was avaialable for book signing. Even though I had already read the book, it was worth standing in a line with almost 250 other sentimental folks (mostly women) for my personally signed copy.
The first day we must have walked over 8 miles up and down the strip.
The strip. We noticed that there was less gambling in the casinos and the cost of food had gone up since our last visit. A sign of the times.
Kurt's cousin Laura drove from S. Cal to visit with us for 2 days. This picture was taken on the first night before we went downtown for dinner and drinks.
The weather was hot but the dry heat didn't feel as hot as Texas. Here we are on our last full day sneaking in some more sight seeing and a lunch at In N Out Burger. Now that is something you just don't get in Texas.
The entire trip was a blessing from start to finish and ended with a stop through Phoenix to pick up the kids before heading back to good 'ol San Antonio.
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