I was up into the wee hours this morning, crafting a database management structure for tracking land development projects, stormwater treatment facilities, and inspections of same. I’d been in bed about an hour shen the kid called out, needing me to come in there and cuddle her back to sleep. 3:30 is a special hour for such business, and I felt, as always, grateful to be able to do it.
In the morning, I had an extra cup of coffee, and once the family was off to school and work, jumped into a little damage control with a client, then to getting the graphic artist going on some illustrations for the new Guidebook. Then it was afternoon and time for the teleconference about the database.
During the usual preliminaries (What are our objectives for this call?) I managed to run around the house picking up toys and clothes, getting some laundry started, and packing for a weekend trip with the kid. By the time the group was reviewing the database structure item-by-item, I was on my way out the door to drive over to the elementary school. I parked and wandered through the crowded schoolyard, my notes in hand, earpiece in my ear, discussing the generation of primary keys, the organization of each table, the independent and dependent relationships, the need for flexible options to accommodate the differing practices of the three dozen or so municipalities who will be the users, which parameters needed restricted selections and which could be narrative, and other technical and regulatory ins and outs, while at the same time finally spotting the kid and sharing grins and looking surprised and properly awestruck at her wiggly cuspid, and using hand gestures and gentle touches to carefully guide her across the busy avenue and toward the truck.
About half way home I pulled over to the side before wishing everyone a good weekend and hanging up on the call. Without turning around, I reached into the back seat and gave the kid’s leg a squeeze.
For over an hour, I hadn’t thought once about the disaster unfolding in Washington and about to spread across the country and the world.