When I say that to people, they often say “Yeah, but Judi, when is your life *not* busy?” True, but this one was more hectic than usual. Eric and I both fell asleep at around 9 pm last night which is unheard of for us. I’m typically a night owl.
On Saturday I was presented with a leadership award and Sunday was Emily’s 6th birthday. Read on for more.
On Saturday, I attended the annual PLTI Alumni retreat. I’ve mentioned this organization many times before. “The Parent Leadership Training Institute”:http://www.cga.state.ct.us/coc/plti.htm is an initiative that began in Connecticut but is now in many states. It’s a 20-week training course designed to help parents learn about civics and leadership with the goal of becoming change agents in their communities. Once you understand how the system works, you can truly make a difference. It’s not just for parents, actually. I went through the program in 2001 after I began making speeches to the Board of Education trying to fight for services for Laini, and a member of the Board turned out to be a PLTI graduate. She gave me the information and encouraged me to apply for the program. I did, and I haven’t regretted it. “SCOPES”:http://www.scopesnetwork.org came out of the class, as you have to complete a community project in order to graduate. SCOPES was my project. This past year I joined the “Design Team” which is the “board” so-to-speak for PLTI locally, and I took a prominent leadership role when we went to Atlanta last month on behalf of PLTI.
The retreat is for local alumni to connect with each other and “recharge our batteries” when it comes to the work we’re doing in the community. There is also an award portion, and I was completely blown away when I was presented with the “Human Excellence Award.” The description of the award is:
bq.. For consistently propagating the ideals and mission of the Parent Leadership Training Institute by helping to “Raise The Village” that raises the child‚ while at the same time reminding us never to lose sight of the development of our character as human beings.
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity
is dangerous and dreadful” - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
p. Wow. I didn’t see it coming. My goal in the community has always been to speak for those that don’t have a voice, while empowering them to find their own voice. And then to have the good sense to step out of the way and let them use it. 
To be in a room of leaders and have them recognize me in that way was overwhelming and humbling. I was incredibly honored.
Sunday was Emily’s 6th birthday. We had her party at “Cafe Bria”:http://cafebria.com/ a new sandwich & ice cream shop. Last year, we invited about 15 kids to a party at our home and there were 7 kids who came (including my two) and this year we invited 25 kids, expected 10 based on the RSVPs and had 2 no-shows. Ah, summer birthdays. Everyone is either out-of-town or busy on summer weekends. I think this is the last summer party for the foreseeable future. Next time we’ll do Emily’s party in June before school lets out.
But the kids had a great time and they all came back to our house afterwards to open presents and play. I wasn’t planning on having all the kids here, but with so few it wasn’t a big deal. Here’s Emily showing off her ice cream creation.
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