It's All About Balance

I am in the eye of the storm. With VMFA opening in less than 2 months, everything needs to be done. It's a daily dance of making priorities about who to call back and who to call. A balance of which creative new efforts to compete and how many standard communications to maintain. How to upload on every community website? Which initiatives most important to promote? Knowing what's happening all over the museum. Finding ways to integrate these discoveries. And a biggie: migrating content to the handsome new website. Not enough time. Which ones are most important? How to communicate that VMFA is not just your mother's art museum any more?

I am humbled by the passion and commitment by my colleagues throughout the museum. Many of the leaders in my division are fairly new to the profession. This infuses us with fewer sacred cows in our efforts, but also less adherence to traditional cultural communications. Is this a problem? Who knows? Staff reductions acerbates the challenge. I repeat almost daily to the wonderful and stressed staff at VMFA: we must be kind to each each other, respect our choices and give each other plenty of understanding when we are puckish and pushy about what we feel is important.

And then there's life. Striking a balance now is especially difficult. I am working long hours, nights and weekends trying to complete as many efforts as possible. Thanks to a pal, I am training for the 10K which is a good discipline. At least one yoga class weekly is non negotiable. I try to eat well (when I eat) and sure do appreciate my dog and husband. We walk every night, sometimes in peaceful silence. Joe has grown weary of my absence and of this computer.

And then there is family. Sloan's Labor Day wedding, generously scheduled after VMFA's opening. Our grandsons who grow and change daily. Our other children and entire extended family, especially my beloved mother. They are what is really important in my life, along with the nurturing of my soul and spirit.

So I'll stop so I can dress for church. And this afternoon I'll spend some time in the garden. The bird feeder needs to be refilled, and I can take the screen off the pond. And finish the NYT.