It's like the first day of summer vacation...

My kids will be done with school for the year very soon, and entering into that heavenly time known as “Summer Vacation”.  And it got me thinking about what that day used to mean to me growing up.  What a thrill!  Wasn’t it?  For weeks up to that day you feel the excitement building… The school hallways have all the kid’s art work taken down (so the janitors can get a head start on the cleanup), the days are hot because the school doesn’t have airconditioning (why would it? It’s Minnesota!  AC is a Summer-Only thing here.)  Finally… it’s the last day.  The last bell sounds, and you run out the doors.  And all the way home you’re feeling like, “Wow.. the possibilities are endless!  What should I do first?..”

Do we ever get to feel that same kind of joy again?  I think so.

Sometimes some of us are fortunate enough to feel that way about our work.  I’ve said it before here, and I’ll say it again: I love my job!  I’m an “IT Pro Evangelist”… and in the Microsoft world, an evangelist is someone who has “contageous enthusiasm” for the products and technologies they represent – in my case the stuff that IT Pros use.  I absolutely love delivering talks and webcasts that focus on stuff that people will find useful in their work-lives.  So…I do feel that joy in my work.  The possibilities are truly endless.

Another way I feel that is when I get home from a trip and I get the big greeting as I walk into the house.  I have 4 kids, and they all still run up yelling, “Daddy!” (or just “Daaad!” if it’s my boys)… and I get big hugs and kisses.  And when I finally get the long hug and kiss from my wife that I’ve missed while I was gone… yeah.. arriving home feels like the start of another, albiet short, summer vacation.

And while it does make me sad that I’ll be gone longer than my usual 4–5 day trip, TechEd always gets me excited about all the possibilities, too.  I’ll be meeting many people in person for the first time that I’ve only known via email, webcasts, or blogging.  And oh so many opportunities to help people learn, and answer questions.  (Come see me in the Hands On Labs – I’ll be working the Windows Server area quite a bit.) So… the minute I walk into the Convention Center on Sunday and see all the signage and excitement… and when I walk up to the registration counter, I’m gonna feel a bit again like I’ve just started summer vacation… Oh, the possibilities!

So… what should we do first?