A typical December 18th

Up yesterday at 5 a.m. to prep for a 6 a.m. phone interview with an executive who is traveling in Bulgaria. 

At 7:30 I wake up Adam, feed him breakfast, get him dressed, and deliver him to his pre-kindergarten class.

At 10 I'm on the phone to Europe again, this time with a division director in the U.K. 

Now, at 11 o'clock, shift gears to the annual report concept that's been waiting for my attention. The designer wants to present it for approval before everyone leaves for the holidays, and he'd like for me to write some real headlines and sample copy to show how the design would work. I have to get my head around the global energy and communications infrastructure business -- a world I visit only once a year, for this annual report project. By 1 o'clock I'm feeling it, and writing things that I think fit both the industry and the design concept. I take what I have at 2:30 and send it to my designer friend. 

Phone rings. It's my producer friend. She has just recorded the voice talent for our podcast and says my script worked well. There could be more of this kind of work.

A client calls to reschedule an appointment that we're trying to cram in next week before everyone heads for the hills. This is a brainstorming session for a national sales meeting speech, and time will be short when we come back to work in January. We settle on a Monday morning slot. 

Time to shift over to the social aspect of the season. I get cleaned up and dressed and out the door to Adam's "Winter Holidays Celebration." We -- May and I -- admire the candy houses that the kids have made and I eat half the crackers and cheese at the adult table. I think of it as a late lunch. At 5:15, May, Adam and I head into Chicago for a production company's holiday party. Luckily, Adam's dad is editing videos about five blocks from where we're going to be, so we drop him off there. We listen to the weather reports on the radio, tracking the progress of the 6 to 14 inches of snow heading our way. 

Between cocktails and dinner, I check my Blackberry and discover that a client needs to record a holiday message tomorrow, and she's hoping I can write it. I email her back and say I'll get up early and have a script waiting for her at 8 o'clock. 

I intended to leave at 9:30 to beat the snow home, but there are windows, and I can see the streets are still clear. We excuse ourselves at 10:30 and make good time on the expressway; the voice on the radio says to beware of black ice on the Edens at Cicero. I'm on the Edens. There's the Cicero exit. I slow down. Now the voice says the snow has arrived in the western suburbs. Still clear where we are on the North Shore. Five minutes from home, we have snow. 

To bed by 11:30. Wake up before the alarm goes off at 5. Decide to blog first, then write that audio script. 

Some people think about skiing this time of year. I think about meeting the next deadline. I'm okay with that.