I live for moments like this.

Talk about your Kodak moment. In the land of You-know-where, we have a big festival every May. The end of the week+-long event always ends in a twilight pops concert accompanying a gigantic fireworks extravaganza. This year, my family joined a private party that included work friends and families. The party included balcony seats from a prime building location in the heart of the event. Fortunator took this photo (disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer he declared: "With my camera PHONE) of his son and mine peering over the balcony to watch the fireworks. Camera phone or not, it was a great shot. They are both in the same grade at school - and I think both are as mischievous as the day is long. Which is typical of boys this age. But they are captured here in a very sweet moment in time. I just love it.

Props to J x 2

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged! It's been a little busy at the ol' ad shop. But I'm feeling really inspired by the last few weeks. Almost two years ago, I lost my job at a larger agency due to a layoff - and took a job at a newer start-up. I went from a supervisory-level position to the role of an entry-level ad girl. I had to make a lot of compromises to survive the transition and culture shock. It's been a rough road.

But within the last month - and more recently over the last few weeks - some changes have been in the works that are allowing me to regain some of what I lost. Including the addition of some really smart people whom I'm proud to call my peers and teammates. It's amazing what a few changes - in role, culture and smart people surrounding you - can do to make you happier in such a short time. My persepctive is really different than it was at the beginning of 07.

So here's a shout-out to friends who have recently made my life a little sweeter: Fortunator and Badway. It's a pleasure!

Out your own front door ...

You never know what you're gonna get. Or something like that.

Yesterday, Craig Morgan (country music artist) was shooting a video right in front of our agency. We are in an office building with a historic theater. The city shut down a two-block radius for this shoot to take place. What a riot. Literally. This event is big news in Small-Town, America. It brought out all kinds of crazies thinking they would snag their 15 minutes of fame. Check out the hoochies in the Jeep.

I kinda like some of Craig Morgan's songs - although I'm not a fan. And just the fact that an actual shoot was happening right outside our door was intriguing - almost addictive. We spent most of the day popping in and out to check out the action - or in most cases not much action. You know what I mean if you've ever been on a film set before. It takes a lot of time to set up for about 10 seconds worth of action.

My city-dweller co-workers had a blast diss'ing this thing all day long. Which was for this country girl somewhat disturbing and exciting all at the same time. Anyhow, enjoy!



Craig Morgan on the dirtbike. Don't know what the dirtbike had to do with the shoot.

Answering the call.

If you have mini-mes of the grade-school variety at your house, maybe you can relate to my most recent panic attack this week. In fact, I'm almost positive you've probably experienced it at least once. Unless your mini-me is a child prodigy. Yep. You guessed it. The call from the teacher. On the anwering machine. A very cryptic mumbling that is just serious-sounding enough to cause your stomach to turn - without detailing the symptoms worthy of your latest affliction. And it's left on a Friday afternoon. So by the time you reach home on Friday evening (long after the teachers have left the building), you have the whole weekend to spend in passive agony, wondering what little Johnny has been up to this time.

The call came in last week. And actually, I didn't hear the message until several days later. "Mrs. Queen B, I've lost your email address when I transitioned to a new computer recently. Can you please either give me a call or send me your email address again? I wanted to speak with you about little Johnny." Joy. Lots of joy. Buckets of proud parental joy. And it's the end of the school year. What major decisions are made about a child's school standing at the end of the school year? I jumped to speculation immediately. Outrageous thoughts. Wildly dramatic thoughts. I was already preparing the "No, we are not going to hold him back ..." speech.

When I finally reached the teacher around noon the next day, she says "Little Johnny had been acting silly. We wondered if there had been some change at home. Or if you've noticed anything amiss. But that was last week. He's been fine this week." So to borrow a phrase from Grey's Anatomy and my last post ... SERIOUSLY?????

Little Johnny does have ADHD. And he's in second grade. Isn't silliness a requirement for that coveted age in life? I was imagining mini-me repeating second grade. And grieving over how that was going to permanently scar his self-esteem. And yet he was acting "silly." Silly. Hmmm. Who was it that was acting silly???? One aforementioned teacher who had me stressed out, losing sleep and speed-dialing Sylvan. That's who.

A day in the life.

We should have known it was too good to be true. Things were going too well. Our good fortune was about to run out. But we didn't really want to acknowledge it. Really. We never do. It's all about doing great creative work. So our misguided optimism lead us down a path to the ever-familiar fantasyland. Three campaigns met with initial client accolades and praise in two weeks time. You just know you are testing the fates. It was too perfect. When is the ball going to drop?

Well, it did today. The corporate marketing director finally got in front of the VP with all our original, fresh and edgy concepts. Edgy inserted here tongue-in-cheek. Edgy for this conservative B2B client. New stuff. Paths they have not trod before. Really awesome integrated work. That takes a few months - or at least a few weeks - to produce. Therein lies the rub. This client is late. Tragically. All the time. Wow. We loved your work. But we need something to go out this week. Seriously? I mean, SERIOUSLY? These marketing events are only scheduled like YEARS in advance. They obviously did not know two years ago - or even two months ago - that this event was coming up. And forgot to really engage until a few weeks before the campaign needed to launch. Like I said. Seriously? I mean, SERIOUSLY???

So we are regrouping again tomorrow. The client. The agency partners. The creative director and copywriter. And me. To figure out how to realign work in one morning that should have been planned six months ago. And how many times has this happened in my career lifetime? Another day in the life of advertising. Seriously.

Age to age and flashbacks.

There have been so many things of late that remind me how fleeting our days are - how our lives pass in seasons or "ages." I don't mean just age as in the number of years old you may be. But the season or periods of our lives that are wrapped around or designed for development or growth or a rite of passage. It is not always evident that we have slipped mysteriously from one age to another either - until a new event or moment unearths the discovery.

For a decade, I was a young 20-something, graduating from college, finding my niche in the work-a-day world and developing a career, meeting my beau who would become my husband and father of my children. I was set and on my way. Next came the late 20s and early 30s and starting a family. My career was a little more established and I was feeling pretty good about my place in life. I LOVED having infants and toddlers. It was exhausting and eye-opening, but life was fresh and new and so many opportunities lie ahead. I liked being a young mother. Then somehow my babies turned into grade school children and we entered a whole new "age" and life existence. New "friends" (parents of kids in our kids' classes), teachers and principals, organized athletics and activities, programs and concerts, practices and games. Whew! It was an adjustment. Not sure I have it well managed yet. And I was still exhausted.

Now our kids are all in grade school (my baby is in 2nd) and middle school, preparing for high school. The tide has shifed again. We are starting to think about insuring them to drive and what vehicle we will intrust to them. Do we like their friends and should we let them go on out-of-town trips without us? What college will they attend and why? Will there be enough money to support their endeavours? Each age brings a whole new mindset and all new questions and answers. We become different people as we move through these ages of time, continually adapting and changing to fit our new position or place. (And there's that exhaustion thing again.)

A co-worker of mine just had a baby last week. I saw pictures for the first time last night! Boy, there is nothing like pictures of a first-week newborn to take you back to a different age in time! It really was not that long ago when I was the late 20-something having my first baby. I can still smell the sweet smells (along with the not-so-sweet), feel the soft skin and tiny fingernails of both my baby boys. The flashbacks make me weepy. Now I have passed the baton to a "new" first-time mom. She is the one who is craddling and swaddling the precious new babe and learning to anticipate and distinguish each and every whimper and cry. It's a truly precious time. But she is also the one up two, three, four times during the wee hours for nightly feedings. And mixing formula. And changing diapers. Figuring out how the carrier fits into the base of the car seat. Packing up the whole house just to run to the grocery store for a few little necessities.

Okay. So maybe we painstakingly "earn" our way out of each age. And maybe we wouldn't trade going back for anything in the world. It was fun and time well spent - but better to push on to the next exciting age around the next bend in the road. I'm ready to grab the baton.

Dorothy, Toto and The Big Well

So it's springtime in Kansas again. Torrential rains, thunderstorms and twisters are the name of the game. Almost every year, Nature does her best to get the best of the God-fearing inhabitants of this state. And all inhabitants are God-fearing because we live in Kansas. With the twisters. And the thunderstorms. And their sister floods. And the ensuing droughts which then follow in July and August. You definitely can't let Nature or fear get the best of you to survive here.

Last week, a F5 tornado took out 95% of Greensburg, Kansas - a little town of 1,200 or 1,400 or 1,600 or 1,800 people (pick a number, the media seem to be randomly guessing so you should too) - about an hour-and-a-half west of Wichita. Most of the major facilities that small communities are built upon - like the post office, all the schools, government buildings - were totally destroyed. All the utilities were completely sacked. From the media photos, it looks worse than a war zone. And I can relate to your hometown and all you've known being devastated by such a disaster because my hometown of Andover, Kansas was ravaged by a tornado in 1991. Many of the important landmarks and history you've come to know as your own are no longer standing. Lives are lost - which is of course the thing that can't be replaced. But we were lucky. This tornado cut through the southern part of town - a residential strip, leaving most of the historical and necessary community buildings. But Greensburg was just totally wiped out. I don't know how they'll rebuild their town and community. But I'm sure they will. That's how we Kansans are. Hearty people from the heartland. Don't know why we seem so insistent to make our homes on the plains. Maybe because we're here. And there is a lot of room to build a home and life out here. Even when Nature knocks you down and makes you start over again.

But Greensburg had a little luck too. The deepest hand-dug well - this little town's big claim to fame - is still there. The giftshop and rest of the attraction's facilities were plowed. But the well is still there. Because of course, it's under the ground. How lucky is that? So if a town can wrap it's spirit around a big hole in the ground, they ought to be capable of anything.

President Bush visited there today. He too was impressed with the big ole' hole in the ground that's still there when the whole town is gone.

Actually, I don't know that President Bush even knew about the well. But we sure all knew about his trip to Greensburg. And Air Force One flying into Wichita for the Blackhawks to take W out to Greensburg impressed us Kansans who are so incredibly bright we choose to build houses in tornado alley.

Seriously now. Our hearts truly do go out to our fellow Kansans who lost homes and lives in this latest weather-related tragedy. And it is an inspiration to see Kansans pull together to help our fellow statesmen in need. Godspeed for a healthy recovery and new life ahead.