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My mind is all over the place today. I’m trying to wrap up loose ends before a whirlwind, three-day trip to Fargo for the National Federation of Press Women convention and Communicator of Achievement awards banquet.

Plenty of notes and reminders cover my desk, a few email snippets from friends with suggestions for the convention and hot spots in North Dakota.

Wait! There are hot spots in North Dakota? A former student of mine lives there and suggested the craft beer scene is exceptional and said we definitely have to take a selfie with the Fargo wood chipper or we really can’t say we’ve had the full Fargo experience.

Back to notes...

Earlier today, I added a note to my planner for next year around this time: Throw some kind of bon voyage soiree or pep rally for Summerland National SkillsUSA qualifiers.

National qualifiers Julie Olivan and Faith King met co-sponsor Amy Selting at our office today. After a wimpy cheer (yes, I lead it), a few photos, hugs and go get ‘ems, the trio was off to Omaha, where they will fly to Atlanta. Julie and Faith will compete Wednesday and hopefully, advance to Thursday’s finals.

Trust me, next year’s qualifiers will have a deserving send off, especially when they will be headed to a national competition. They definitely deserve it.

After they left, I made a flying trip to South Dakota to pick up one of the grandsons, who had an opportunity to take a trip to the Black Hills. Jorden, who is 12, tagged along. The ride to I-90 was relatively low-key. Once Walker joined us, well, let’s just say conversations with two tween-age boys can be enlightening. Definitely entertaining.

Mental notes made:

Flatulence and discussion on why people experience it should be avoided. The scientific explanation was spot on, but I could not stop giggling. They, on the other hand, were so serious.

Discussion about skunks releasing spray should also be avoided. Again, the explanation was accurate, but led to more discussion about farting, which led to more laughter.

Those two topics covered approximately 50 miles worth of drive time. Honestly, the belly laughing eased a lot of tension.

I also was schooled on swords and given a short history lesson on Excalibur. (I used to teach that so ...) That discussion led to the creation of several puns, which, at that moment, seemed hilarious.

The back-seat drivers instructed me to pull onto the shoulder as a wall of dust, accompanied by strong wind gusts, approached.

“Turn your headlights on,” one instructed. Already done.

“Two derechos in one year. Who’d have thunk it?” Um, you’re turning into your parents, just like on the Progressive commercial.

Is there a point to all of this?

Take note: Sometimes, we are become so wrapped up meeting deadlines and focusing on ourselves and our own laundry list of obligations that we overlook the big picture and forget to smile at the precious moments provided by family.

Duly noted. (And recorded in my planner.)