"What is it like to be married to Kevin?"
I've been asked this question a lot over the past 4 years since Kevin became the Chief Executive Officer at Feed the Children and now at the American Diabetes Association.
Not only is Kevin one of the most dedicated men I know-- being driven toward growth and transformation in all he does which takes a lot of time-- but the demands of the role are great by nature.
Since becoming CEO of these two organizations, hundreds of stakeholders whether they be board members, industry partners or employees all beg for his time on a daily basis. Everyone wants an email reply in . 5 seconds after they send it. Every phone call in his "to be returned" list seems to be urgent. No evening or weekend is sacred. Ever.
It's a balancing act for sure, as I watch, him do it and carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. And it's a lot of weight! Especially leading a mission driven organization, the stakes are high! So in this environment. . . our days of rest together are few.
Yet as much as I know marriage only works when I'm 100% on his team (and he mine) . . .
I'm learning to help him (and us) find them and savor these moments, even when they arrive on days we wouldn't expect.
A week and a half ago, Kevin and I found ourselves in San Fransisco, CA for the American Diabetes Association's annual Post-Grad course. Over 500 doctors, educators and pharmaceutical representatives all gathered for several days of meetings, lectures and time to be together to talk about the latest research in the diabetes world. I traveled there to help Kevin host a reception with some of the industry partners and be a part of other conference events.
As an aside, it's amazing front row seat (literally) I've been given to learning about this horrific disease and hearing first hand the stories of those living with its hardships every day. It most certainly keeps my brain churning in new ways about how the church can better serve those living with diabetes (since that's my vocation).
So all this to say, I didn't expect to have any free time during our trip, especially with Kevin. 
But somehow the stars collided and it happened. We had one morning and part of the afternoon off together. Just the two of us. It was a miracle!
And as we wandered the streets of San Fran doing what we love most: window shopping and nibbling our way through a meal (and of course stopping at every Starbucks for Kevin's tea refill), I felt like we had our first day of rest in a long time. It was fun. It was play. And I realized how little of this we do anymore.
But how much both of us need it. 
The body needs rest. It needs diversions. And couples need rest and excursions together. Play is good for the soul as much as medical professionals tell us it's good for the brain.
So when we got home last week I made a point to bring it up this very topic with Kevin. I told him we must plan another "just you and me" day. And he agreed. We can't go that long again. And I think we've found another date to look forward to.
Even the types of us that think we get a pass . . . business owners, pastors and CEOs too.
We've all got to make time for play even if it just trying to figure out if this was really Jimmy Fallon or just a traveling exhibit from Madame Tussaud's. 
