February Lookback - Preparations

I was at a Bach Consort event tonight at the Rockefeller's home in Rock Creek Park. This is an event we invite all our corporate supporters to - they like the accessibility to the Senator (most of them are lobbyists for their companies) and it's just a beautiful home with lovely art (Cassatt, Sargeant, etc.) on the walls. It's a reception event, but they also have to listen to the Senator talk about Bach (he can go on for hours) and we have a musical offering as well. Tonight my voice teacher performed pieces by Vivaldi, Handel and Bach. She sounded great. This evening was my opportunity to tell some of my fellow board members about my decision to leave the country - and resign from the board at the end of the year. Given that many of them saw me as the next president, this felt a little awkward. But my current President has been telling everyone, and they’ve been waiting for me to tell them…. There were two I needed to talk to personally tonight, and I managed to get through the spiel quickly in the midst of other conversations. The woman I have put off telling, but knew I had to tonight, is the Senator's former Chief of Staff (and Hillary Clinton’s current Chief of Staff), and has really believed in me, and thought of me as the next great President (for whatever reason, but that is what she told the Senator). I cornered her as she was leaving, and got to explain that I was just seizing the moment, had considered not doing it because of the Consort, but now was the right time for me --- but she really wasn't buying it. I was rescued by the Senator. He came over and she started to explain that I was not going to be the next President and I took over and told him I was taking an opportunity to live overseas. He looked me in the eye and said he thought that was a great idea - that he fully supported it. He said that too many get caught up in the cycle of their lives and think of themselves as bigger than they really are (he was thinking of his Senate colleagues) but he said again that he thought it was great (or something like that). Tamera was a little flummoxed by his response, and while she was fumbling, I thanked his sincerely for his words and told him it meant alot to me. The Bach Consort couldn't exist without the Senator at the moment, so it was important to me (at some metaphysical level) that he was OK with me disappearing from the scene. Crossed that one off my list!