Winning!
I flew to Minneapolis, MN two weeks ago, to attend AssistU’s yearly Community Recognition Awards Ceremony, and to connect and re-connect with my VA pals. Although nominated for three awards, I never expected to be among the winners.
Can you imagine my surprise when I heard my name called as a winner? Was is really my name that I heard? “It can not be ME; there are others who deserve this much more than I do.” The thoughts raced through my mind. Yet, my heart jumped with joy and I almost danced to the front of the room to receive my certificate.
I am thrilled to have received this award, not for the first, but for the second time. And having been chosen as the most supportive member of the year, to me represents a big responsibility; therefore, I choose to commit here and now to continue to nurture this wonderful community, to help it grow and prosper even more. I have been involved with AssistU for three years now; our unique community of Virtual Assistants helps each other freely, with lively interactions on its membership site, and instant support.
What I so deeply cherish is that my engagement with the community is so welcomed. This, by itself, makes my heart sing! By voting for me my pals express their appreciation of me, my actions, my personality, my style. I am dancing!
Have you won a community award? What were your thoughts that raced through your mind? Did you experience similar feelings, and what, if any, actions did you take because of the award? I’d love to hear from you.
Readjusting and Yearning
Our visitors have gone and all that’s left are the wonderful memories. I am filled with love for our families who came to celebrate with us, my husband’s and my milestones, but also my nephew’s Wedding a week later.
The memories will live with me and in my heart forever; three of us four siblings being together; it does not happen very often; sad that our youngest brother could not be there.
Saying Good-Bye was the toughest ever; does it always get more difficult the older we get? Tears flowed freely, and I felt as if part of me was being ripped away. It’s not that they are unreachable; an eight-hour plane ride gets me over to Europe quickly. But, when I think about the “old” days when such Good-Bye was “never again” … I don’t know how people did it.
It’s been over two weeks since my sister left, and I am readjusting. Papers have been piling up and I am busy reducing the ToDo list. Emotionally, I am not there yet, too many events and a lot of visitors in such a short time need digesting.
I feel blessed to have had these weeks, to have created such strong memories, and to have been able to deepen the connection with my family members. I wonder, where would I be without them?
How do you deal with emotional times, such as this? What do you do to get yourself “back on track” after such happy times; how do you deal with the missing and yearning?
AssistU 2012 Award Nominations
Every year,in the fall, AssistU holds its yearly Community Recognition Awards ceremony, lovingly called “Homecoming.” Being AssistU VAs, we all have completed a rigorous 20-week training program and, once passed the weekend-long exam, are required to sign a strict Code of Ethics each year, in order to remain a member of the community.
My peers nominated me for three awards this year. When the emails came rolling in a few weeks ago, for a moment I was speechless; I didn’t believe my eyes. Then the emotions set in: gratitude, happiness, love.
These are nominations that I do not take lightly; they display great trust in me, and honor my contributions to this community that I value so deeply.
AssistU VAs work in long-term relationships with their clients; that’s what makes us different from other VAs. We deeply care about our clients, and over time become their one-stop-go-to resource.
I feel so very humbled by having received these nominations. Whether I will receive the award for any of these or not, I thank everyone in the AssistU community who helped to make this happen!
Juggling
It’s a time of celebrations: both my husband and I are having big Birthdays this year; and we are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Is there a better reason to throw a party?
Visitors arrived: from Germany and Holland, from Quebec and Ontario; up to 10 people slept in our house. We had fun; we laughed; we found ourselves crammed into the gazebo and counted 14! I lived from one food shopping trip to the next; how on earth could the fridge shrink by the minute?
I thought I had it all prepared and that juggling work and guests would be quite possible.
I was wrong!!
I didn’t want to have to work when everyone else was in bed; I wanted to enjoy our guests and spend as much time with them as possible; see, they don’t come and visit every year ….. I didn’t want to end up sleep-deprived either.
I felt torn! I felt pressure inside just thinking about the time I needed to do the work my clients trust I do 100%. And thinking about that trust helped me to balance company and clients’ requirements.
What to we need to do in preparation for such happening? Most importantly, inform your clients as soon as you have firm dates; and determine, with them, the tasks that need to be done while your have guests. If possible, arrange your working hours in such way that allows you to spend more time on each client beforehand so that there is no lack in performance.
My take-away from this experience:
- Don’t compromise and only agree to what you absolutely, definitely know you can do!
- Don’t make firm commitments; chance is that it’s tough, if not impossible, to keep them.
- Plan your working time around your visitors’ outside-the-house activities and stick to your plan.
I didn’t count on things to work out differently than I had planned! I didn’t allow for the unforeseen! And ….. I learned a lesson!
I am grateful to my clients who have been wonderful and understanding; and I am grateful to all who flew in, or drove, to spend these precious days and hours with us. Some are still here, so is my sister, my best friend. I savor every moment! Who knows when we’ll see each other again!
I wonder, how do you juggle visitors and work? I’d love to see your thoughts and advice.