La Lumiere

  The day after my last blog post, I attended the February Membership Meeting of the Washington Area Concierge Association at the Loews Madison Hotel.  As a Board Member, I usually have more of a handle on the workings of the meeting. This particular month, I knew that I would be honored as that month's "La Lumiere," recognizing my contributions to our local concierge community. 

  I had known about this honor for about two weeks, but as I told my Director of Rooms Joseph, "People will say nice things about me and light candles, that's all I can tell you."

  I was happy that Joseph and my wonderful General Manager, Jean-Christophe, attended our meeting. The La Lumiere ceremony took place after the usual business had been discussed.

  Julie from the Four Seasons spoke about the origins and meaning of the honor, and how my love affair with hotels started on a family vacation when I was six, and my mother let me order an ice cream sundae from Room Service. (True)

  Those that spoke about me were Leslie from the St. Regis (a good friend and the President of our Association), Cameron one of my colleague at the Sofitel, my friend Dan from the Ritz-Carlton, Azi from the Mayflower (who works on-call at the Sofitel as well), and Shujaat from the Capital Hilton (also the President of Les Clefs d'Or, USA). 

  To say that many of the remarks were moving would be a complete understatement. If they hadn't made me stand in front of the room, I definitely would've started crying. The friend I am, my patience when training someone in the job, plus my work in Washington over the last 5+ years, as well as my recent personal challenges were all highlighted. After each Concierge spoke, they lit a candle on a candleabra. 

  My GM also said some lovely things, even though we've only worked together for six months.

  As I tweeted later:

  The flowers I am holding in the picture are from my friend Stef, who along with a few other "civilian" friends came to cheer me on. 

  Sometimes, my personal challenges can distract me from why I love my job. The whole evening was a beautiful reminder for me.

  Other things that have made me happy lately:

  A few days after the WACA Meeting, I traveled to Abington, Pennsylvania to visit my Aunt Karen, Uncle Bob, and their dog Abby. I spent two nights catching up, eating hoagies, playing with the dog

and recharging my batteries.

  March 9th I welcomed my Aunt Linda and Aunt Joan for an overnight visit to Washington.  They stayed at the Sofitel, and loved it.  We visited the National Gallery of Art, the Newseum,

and saw the "American Cool" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.  We had a lovely visit, and I really enjoyed making new memories and reconnecting with my late Mother's sisters. 

  On the 12th I had my monthly checkup with my oncologist, Dr. Smith.  #TheBigGuy had to work, so my new friend and colleague Emily came to keep me company at the office, and I showed her around Friendship Heights a little bit. Dr. Smith said if my tumor marker blood test didn't go up, I wouldn't need a PET Scan before I saw him in April. The next day, I was told my tumor marker number went down by almost HALF. So, I don't need a PET Scan before my April checkup, and for now, my treatment seems to be working. Thankful for Small Victories.

Stay Warm,

CVZ