The first few days

Oh my goodness!  I just had to be reminded by Jennifer about my first few days in New Zealand.  That just goes to show what a whirlwind it was, and what a wreck I was!

So, here is a recap.  And my apologies for the posts being out of order.

I arrived on a Tuesday afternoon.  Michael and Aidan picked me up from the airport.  That evening we ate a delicious family dinner, chatted away and went to sleep at a reasonable hour.

The very next morning I took the train into Wellington with Melissa and Michael.  Melissa and I were headed to Jennifer's workshop while Michael went to work.

Melissa and I spent the day on the top floor of the Majestic Center in downtown Wellington, participating in Jennifer's leadership development workshop.  I was thrilled to be able to see what Jennifer has been busy doing all the way down here, and even more thrilled to be invited to be a part of it!  I felt under qualified for the workshop, but I introduced myself as Jennifer's groupie, and was warmly welcomed into the group.

The Majestic Center- described to Naomi and Aidan as "the building with the pokey things on top."

The workshop wrapped up around 3 pm just before the book launch party began.  We relocated to a room at the other end of the hall, and the party began.  Naomi and I were responsible for selling the books.  The two of us sat behind the table of beautifully displayed beautiful books, waiting for someone to buy one.  We barely had our glasses of water before we were making sales.  Naomi and I were busy the entire time, selling all of the books we had at the party, and then some!  We felt a bit neglected by the waitress passing around hors d'oeuvres, but every once in a while she would stop by our table with delicious treats.

The evening was wonderful.  No, it was more than wonderful.  I was so grateful to be a part of it, and witness the love and support that Jennifer has in New Zealand.  By simply looking around the room at the number of people that came to the book launch, it was clear to see what an incredible impact Jennifer has made here.  When the handful of speeches began, I was overwhelmed.  It felt almost surreal that I was able to be in New Zealand for such a momentous occasion.  After being away from family for so long, I was beside myself to be a part of something so amazing.

Jennifer made a brief humble and perfectly eloquent speech, and the party continued.

People mingled, drank a bit of wine, ate a bit of food and asked for the author's signature in their copies of her brand new book.

Eventually the crowd filtered out, Naomi and I triple counted the money, and the five of us left to eat pizza- without a single book to carry home!