What a difference a year makes

Or, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

A year ago today I was preparing to go to Glamorama, Marshall Field's annual charity fashion show held in Chicago the second Friday of every August. They are preparing for it this year as I write this: tomorrow is the big day. My stress level was high - not because of any pressure my client put on me, but because of the pressure I put on myself. That's the way I've always been.

Now, I am preparing to go to San Jose tomorrow for my Chocolate Party, and the mindset couldn't be different. Not because I don't care about doing a good job - because I do - it's just that things are so much more relaxed. Maybe because my workload isn't exorbitant I had time to plan every last detail in advance (although I still don't know what I'm wearing or where exactly I am supposed to park at the airport), but I think its a general sense of comfort with things that I'm not lying awake at night worried about a certain stylist or celebrity or car service or crazy boss. Which I knew in my heart weren't really worry-worthy, but neurotic anxiety is only one of many wonderful traits I've inherited from my mother.

To that point, I just got blindsided with a huge writing assignment for Delta. I (obviously) want to do it well, but I have so much going on in the next two weeks - two friends and mom coming in and days off from work - that I am seriously worried about how I am going to knock this thing out. I am now going to Atlanta for three days, adding to my busy travel schedule this month. And the thing is, I know that I THRIVE on stress, and I'm not happy unless I'm worried about SOMETHING. So then, could I be any happier? Um, no.