Thursday was the worst. She needed me all day long, with no breaks. She didn't sleep for more than fifteen minutes, and I never got the chance to do any of the things I'd hoped to do that day.

Friday was a little better. I took her for her doctor's appointment, where I learned that we haven't been giving her enough formula. Way back at day 13, our doctor told Jean we were giving Colette too much formula, and Jean was given the impression that we should stick with 15 to maybe 18 ounces a day. While we've been giving her 18 ounces more days than not, I found out Friday that she's supposed to have 24 ounces a day.

To a baby, that's big stuff.

So all of Colette's bottles on Friday were bigger than before, and she seemed much happier and sleepier than she was on Thursday. I even managed to run over to the University with her in the late afternoon to print some documentation for Marty in Human Resources.

All I can say is I have been humbled in the last few days to know that Jean has not only taken care of Colette each day for the last six weeks, but she's also managed to stay on top of the rest of the house at the same time. I honestly can't see how she found a moment to get anything done. I am certain that I could never be a stay-at-home dad. It would be a spectacular failure.

Later tonight I board a plane for Orlando to attend the SCT Summit conference. I've been to these conferences in the past. I'm in for four days of hard work from dawn until well after dusk. The sessions during the day are packed with information on how to get the most out of the application. We're even going to preview the next version of Banner, which is slated to be released later this year.

I've always done pretty well with the sessions. I sit up front and usually don't let the presenter escape without asking at least one question. What's more difficult for me is the networking. There are all kinds of people at this conference – over 4,000 administrators and techies attend the conference. Now that my job is to train people in all aspects of Banner, I'm going to be especially busy reaching out for contacts. There is much to do.

Still, I'm not really a people person. It's actually draining for me to stand around talking to complete strangers long enough to get the information or contact I seek. Years ago when I worked in the Registrar's Office, I would usually skip out on the social events at various conferences. I'd retreat to my room to read (usually work related material, my feeble attempt to justify my absence). One day Carolyn (the Registrar) told me to get over it. I did. It was stupid for me to miss out on the opportunities provided by networking, even if it wipes me out.

Summit conferences are different in another way. The University is sending 25 people to Summit again this year. This conference is an incredible opportunity for Banner users around campus to talk business and have a little fun. We'll all be going out to dinner together on Monday, and it should be a blast.

Of course going to the conference means that I'm going to miss Jean and Colette. I'll miss Colette's first day at the Goddard School, since Jean is dropping her off on Monday before heading into the office. First day of day care isn't the biggest thing in the world, and it's not like Colette is going to miss me when Jean hands her off to the teachers there. For all I know, she'll be asleep. I do feel like I'm missing out on a moment though. Certainly not the biggest moment, but one I wouldn't have missed under other circumstances.

This will also be the first time Jean is at home alone with Colette. While she's sleeping through the nights pretty well now, Colette can still be fussy late in the evening. It's always been nice for one of us to cry "uncle!" and pass her off to each other. For the next four nights, Jean is on her own.

The conference ends in the late afternoon on Wednesday. I had the choice to stay over Wednesday night and catch a Thursday plane back to Richmond, but instead I'm landing on Wednesday night at midnight. I know Jean and Colette will be tired, but I don't want to take any more time away from them than I have to right now.