Conference Day 1

I had a great but tiring day at the Rebbetzen's conference. This is my fourth year attending so I already know many of the women. It's kind of nice to catch up with them and see how their year has been, what big or small changes have occurred. Sometimes they have had a baby, sometimes  they have moved on to another community, but often things kind of stay the same.
As usual, some sessions were informative and interesting, others were less so. I have found that the panel presentations of older Rebbetzens and sessions where women have the opportunity to share and ask questions are the most helpful.You hear others describing their challenges and successes and can relate it to your own issues.
What is annoying is that sometimes there are two or three sessions going on concurrently, that I want to participate in. Alas, I can only be in one place at one time, so I try to gain what I can. Tomorrow there are definitely a few different topics I am interested in.
I do find it draining to spend all day sitting, listening to others talk. It is definitely enjoyable but tiring. Then I come home and have not seen my kids all day and I feel badly that we only have a half hour until they have to go to bed to catch up on the events of their schoolday.  I feel sad that I was not the one to pick them up from school or hear about their day as they have their snack, even if it is only for a day or two. The flipside of that is that I am very fortunate to be able to stay home with them usually and be the one they come to with their boo-boos, stories from school and even their potty language which seems to be a big source of entertainment these days.
Childcare, always a source of anxiety when being out of the house for a significant amount of time, worked out great today. I am a little nervous about tomorrow's arrangement but am hoping everything will go smoothly and everyone's needs will be met! I guess we will see...