It is dangerously quiet at the NNPCW office these days. With the Leadership Event only a week away, it seems that either we have planned this event incredibly well, or there is something absolutely earth-shattering that we’re forgetting to do in preparation. Neither describes the situation accurately… everything that needs to be done is probably done, but we’re forgetting tons of tiny details. Ah well, that’s why Kinkos is open 24 hours.

I leave on Monday for Chicago. I’ll have five to six hours of driving en route to relax and clear my head before the madness begins. Those of you who have never been to a leadership event might be asking what the typical experience is like. Well, it depends on whom you talk to. For the students, it is an awesome time of meeting like-minded women. They attend plenaries, learn at great workshops about topics ranging from vocational discernment to sexual ethics, and see social justice work being done in some of America’s greatest cities. It is a time of rest, rejuvenation, and motivation for the school year ahead.

My defining impression of the leadership event, however, will always be of driving a lot. The first day of this year’s event will see me on the road by 7:30 am for the first of five runs that day to and from O’Hare International Airport. I finally finish sometime around 9 pm. Sunday will probably be even worse—I’m looking at seven trips total. Add to that Brianne’s three runs each on Wednesday and Sunday, and you have logged a lot of miles in two days.

I see my role at the Leadership Event as that of an orchestra conductor. There are so many pieces, from organizing the panelists on Thursday to making sure everyone makes it back on the bus on Friday night, and I’m the one who makes sure they all come together. I rather like it—it indulges my organizational streak. Still, the role can be rather stressful.

While at the Leadership Event, we should have access to dial-up Internet. Thus I can log on and update the blog while I’m there. What I’m hoping to have, actually, is a series of guest bloggers give you their takes on the event in a sort of daily journal. So if you want to keep up with the event, keep tuned in here. I may be trapped in traffic somewhere on Interstate 90 all day, but someone will be blogging.

“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” --Mark 4:40

Kelsey