"The sign on the door said Ladies, and sure enough, there they were..."

Old joke, bad joke. But I spent the day working at the Alaska Women's Show, and sure enough, there they were. My second favorite thing about this trade exhibition is the peoplewatching. There are plenty of men at the show too, but honestly, the collection of 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' of women always just amazes me. From every size, shape, color, stage of life. And trends that surprise me somehow - though it takes awhile, at some point I realize hey, I have seen at least twelve young women here in advanced pregnancy who also still have a baby in arms. (Or, as a visitor to our booth commented, "I give to the Alaska Humane Society *and* Planned Parenthood...") And it seems every elder looks at our sign and says "I'm all done with careers" as though their shelf life is over and you get them to talk about what they used to do and they are transformed into their prime before your eyes.

My first favorite thing is talking to people. Not the chit-chat that you have with a couple hundred people, but the eight or ten who linger on the edge and you know they want to say something, and you ask them, and they tell you. And you listen and ask and you hear the voices of people who want to do more, to be more, to have someone say it's really all right to pursue the life you want to lead, it's not wrong to want to love the work you do and make a living at it. And they raise some of the barriers and you know that they are easy barriers for you to help break down, and you talk about how that can be done. And you see a little light in the eyes begin to sparkle. And you share a few possibilities for next steps, and you pull a small commitment from them because what they want is so reasonable and it's so worth having, and before long that person is engaged with you in crafting their brighter future, and they are smiling when they leave. Yeah.

Well, really, my first favorite thing about this show is that this is the last year I will do it, and that this particular job ends in another month though I'll probably still do a few things from time to time to keep my hand in it a little. Next week I start a temporary transition, helping cover for Kari at the dog daycare while she's out of town for ten days.