You Left Me!!!

Yesterday was a long day for the pups - all of 7 1/2 hours! I had to be downtown (Chicago) pretty early for my first volunteer shift at the World Boxing Championships - more about that later - so I left the house very early. And Hope left later, but I didn't get home until about 4:30 in the afternoon. (The reason that this is exceptional is that we leave the kids almost every day but the longest is usually five or six hours. We're really lucky!) The greeting when I got home was unparalleled! You would have thought I'd been gone for days! Even Ceilidh, who usually makes a beeline for her toys, was jumping all over me! Maybe I should be gone for longer periods more often, to get a welcome home like that!

About the Boxing Championships - it's an Olympic qualifying event for the 2008 Games in Beijing for some countries, so it's a big deal. I was assigned to Guest Services in the home hotel, where all the athletes and their support staff are staying. The first thing I saw when I got to my assignment was a bunch of half-naked guys, getting ready for their weigh-in. Not bad, huh? Women were not allowed in the Weigh-in area itself, but Guest Services room is near the dining room, the Internet Cafe, and the Weigh-in room. Lucky me. I was able to help sort out some problems, using my very rusty Spanish. I have two more days of volunteering there next week, so I'll have more stories then!