what a lazy lazy person i am! after yesterday's Women Ties networking, workshopping, speaker presentational extravagana (can i also mention the food, without sounding too shallow? yes? okay - the FOOD was AMAZING), so after all that, i came home and managed to heat up some leftovers and walk the Diva on a nice, slow, contemplative walk through the woods. (I was contemplative...she is just slow these days, which works out well for our combined purposes). got home from the walk, and thought it must be close to midnight...yawn...i was so tired. nope. 7pm. so i gave myself permission to unplug and lay on the couch with my feet up, and a big snuggly quilt cocooning me. i knew i'd end up sleeping there for the night, but didn't care. husband is out of town, and there's something that appeals to me about our couch...a big "L" shaped thing with plenty of room and comfy to it. sure enough...soon snoozin. i woke up at one point, absolutely certain it was 3 or 4am, but no - just 11pm. Diva went out back for a quick potty break, and soon she and I were joined by bulimia cat on the couch. diva doesn't usually let BC anywhere near me, but i think we were all too tired to care. yesterday's conference was strange...having just come back from Squam, here i was again in a room filled with high energy entrepreneurial women. But see, i'm a hugger...i have to hug. and these were Serious Business Women and hugging isn't necessarily a part of Business As Usual. so i occupied my hands with coffee cups and bottles of water, lest a hug sneak out. and it did. one of the keynote speakers came up to me during a break to tell me how much it meant to her to look out in the crowd and see me smiling and engaged, and how it made it easier for her to present. well, i don't know about you, but that is a Cry for A Hug if i ever saw it, and honestly i have little control over the urge to hug. so i hugged her. and she was really surprised. and didn't actually engage in the hug, except a little bit of her did. she really needed a hug, i could tell. and some people, to be fair, are not huggers. just don't want that much contact. and i respect their boundaries. but this was a spontaneous hug and from my heart to her. so somewhere, in that little spot that hugged back, she needed it. so i may not have distinguished myself as a 6-figure entrepreneur, but i suspect i'll be remembered as the hugger. oh - and the woman who led the charge into the men's room, not having patience to wait 15 minutes for the line in the ladies loo. (Hey MB - do you know they have these little sinks in the men's room with soap right in them?) it was a whole different vibe, and made me realize how much more i appreciate the pure extravagance of Squam. i say extravagant because it's a chance to let your Self loose, if the opportunity isn't there in your day-to-day. hell, it's a chance to FIND your Self and then let it loose. i had pretty much forgotten that there are times/places in society where hugging is not as appropriate as in other times/places. sometimes a terse handshake is appropriate instead. and it made me happy to realize that i live in a realm within myself that says Damn The Torpedos to convention, and recognizes the spirit within a person, and what it is craving, or lacking, or is just joyfully full of. i regret to inform you that i will not change. it is a gift i freely accept, and it is my place in this world. so to the presenter with the strict suit and tight tight hair who i hugged, please know this: your presentation was one of the best given...you have worked in a man's field for many years, and have felt you needed to be one of them to compete and accomplish and surpass, and maybe you're right, but sometimes a hug is just what's needed too. we are women, it's okay. :) to everyone else - go hug someone today...there's got to be someone you know who needs a hug.