The absent hostess.

Staring at a half empty (full) bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough and glancing at the clock. 11 AM. There is no way that I am going to make it. Out of bed this morning at 9 (should have been 7). Bake cookes, organize kitchen, pick up house, go to the lab, host party. The first three went well. Driving to my house one hour after the party started it occured to me that I work too much. Arriving to a home full of neighbors, they welomed me and said how great it was that I could make it. Meaningful are the hugs and conversations shared with the great people that live on our block. Meaningless are the data collected from the experiment started on Friday afternoon and completed at 445 PM today. On auto pilot it made sense that after my board exam was over I would throw myself into my research. Eight weeks on crutches, a few months without data, a serious blow to my career. Working as hard as I possibly can before my leave is the way I make it okay. In case you are wondering, I do have incite into my extreme nature. Seeking balance is the reason I planned the party in the first place. Too busy to even think about being angry- now that is an improvement.