This has been a week full of fun work events.  

First, there was our morning with Leon Logothetis from The Kindness Diaries.

 

 

When I had my phone interview with Leon, at the end of our interview, right before hanging up and doing my embarrassing-to-my-daughter cheer, I told the English chap that I only had one last question.

“Great,” he says.  “Let’s hear it.”

And then I asked, “Well, we have some friends here in our town who embody kindness, the sort of kindness that you travel across the world and promote.  And these friends own a restaurant.  They sell crepes.  Leon, can my kids and I buy you a crepe for breakfast when you are in town?”

He laughed.  A good hearty chuckle.

“Oh, absolutely.  I would love to eat a crepe with you all,” he said.  (And he called them “crepps”.)

 

 

So, Monday morning the kids and I – and Jane and Walter and Hannah – met Leon and his agent Erick at Tandem and enjoyed a lovely little breakfast together.  I suggested he order the Lumberjack with a fried egg on top.  He did not regret my decision.  Breakfast chatter was amiable.  Piper had her questions loaded and ready to fire.  He approved of the name choices my children all have and he even liked my t-shirt choice.  (I felt it appropriate to wear this shirt to breakfast.)  We discussed life and tattoos and travel and I also liked the quote on his t-shirt.

 

 

After breakfast we headed over to City Hall where we gathered with a good showing of people from TR and listened to Leon talk about his show and his life and his story.

 

 

 

After that exciting morning we headed back home where we cleaned our house, Bergen fought against fractions, London baked more scones and the kids played with frogs.  Or toads.

Jane swung by the house and asked the kids if anyone would go play outside for a few minutes because she thought the weather and the sky were perfect for photos and she had an idea.

Apparently only Bergen and I felt like running in the yard.  I wanted to show Jane my somewhat recently acquired skill of a single-handed cartwheel, but I was not dressed appropriately for showing off.

Instead the not-quite-a-teenager boy and I ran through the field.

 

 

Jane is such a fun photographer and that boy of mine is such a joy-seeker.

That was a good day.

Second cool work thing is this — Long before I ever heard of my new buddy Leon and his yellow motorcycle, I was sitting in college, I think,  (!) watching the first of its kind, a silly reality TV show that took a bunch of complete strangers and put them on an island together and the last one who made it to the end of all the games and all the challenges and all the voting out, was declared the winner of a million dollars and the sole Survivor.

And I’ve been watching this show, in its many consecutive seasons, ever since.  We’ve had weekly Survivor parties for years upon years.  When I was directing the theatre program at a high school in Virginia we had an annual Cast vs. Crew Party after the show closed in the style of Survivor.  I’ve never missed a season.

I’m not saying whether that is a praise-worthy truth or a cringe-worthy truth, I’m just saying it is the truth.

I think it’s safe to say – I’m a fan.

And today, I sat on my sofa in my house chatting with my friend Leslie, who happens to have once upon a time been a castaway on Survivor,   (China, if you’re keeping track) and we set out a plan for TravelersRestHere to promote a gigantic fundraiser that Leslie is hosting next week here in TR featuring a handful of her Survivor fellow castaways!

 

 

Ya’ll – how fun is that?

Isn’t life just comical?

You can read all the specific details on Travelers Rest Here.  The cause is a wonderful cause – Give Kids the World, a resort in Florida that gives week long vacations to kids with terminal illnesses.  And next weekend the kids and I get to meet the Survivor castaways and spend the day doing exercise events with them, eating pizza and playing Survivor style games right here in our town!

Who knew owning a website could be so much fun?

If you are a fan too, you should totally come visit me next weekend and hang out wth all of my new Survivor friends!

 

 

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