Michelle Obama gave the keynote at the conference I’m at today (that being the National Conference on Volunteering and Service).  Yeah – I saw Michelle Obama speak today.  Let me say that again – I saw Michelle Obama.  Holy s**t!  And yeah – she was amazing and inspiring and so many other things that I can’t quite put it into words.

Not like me – sorta tongue tied and speechless.  That’s ’cause it wasn’t just Michelle Obama.  First, Arianna Huffington.  Holy s**t – the editor of the Huffington Post!  Then, Nancy Pelosi.  I’d thought I’d died and gone to liberal heaven.  Nancy Pelosi – first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  Before Michelle Obama. Oh my god!  Both spoke about the importance of volunteering and community service.  Arnold Schwarzenegger too – who was more intelligent than I thought he’d be.  Not necessarily enough to impress me but still smarter than I thought he was – if only he’d start using his brain.  Anywho, Michelle Obama was followed, I kid you not, by Jon Bon Jovi.  I have to admit that I didn’t at all get why he was at this conference – until he started talking about how he used his arena football team to do work in the community and build up a grassroots network and then start his foundation to spread what they started.  Wow.  The guy is doing amazing stuff.  And then he played – and I went from professional thinking about looking into his foundation for one of my programs to a 12 year old singing along to Livin’ on a Prayer (which, now that I think about it, was a pretty ironic choice to play for a group of non-profit leaders in this climate).  Another I-can’t-believe-I’m-sitting-in-this-room moment.  Unreal.   Jon Bon Jovi.  God I loved him when I was a teenager.  And yeah, he’s still got it – in so many ways.  And then, more.  Maria Shriver talked about increasing community service in California.  She was amazing.  The session closed with Matthew McConaughey talking about an entertainment industry campaign to encourage community involvement and volunteering.  And yes, he’s gorgeous.  Hello, Matthew, over here – single again!  Unfortunately not so smart, but well intentioned.  Ending with eye candy wasn’t the worst thing thing in the world.  It was like having dessert.  This was all in 3 hours, mind you.  Can’t quite wrap my brain around it.

The funny thing is I signed up for the opening session because Maria Shriver was the stated keynote.  Just Maria Shriver.  Friday, I got an email from the conference saying to get to the opening session 2 hours early.  Didn’t know why and planned to ignore it until I saw the news this morning and learned that Michelle Obama was giving the keynote.  The rest – Arianna Huffington, Nancy Pelosi, Jon Bon Jovi, Arnold and Matthew McConaughey – all “surprise guests”.  Who knew getting screened by the Secret Service would be the reason we were to show up early?  Unreal.

This afternoon, I won’t forget – an experience of a lifetime.

Off to bed – tomorrow is a full day of sessions that look fantastic.  I suspect I’ll be awed in a different way and come home with a million ideas and inspiration.

PS – there is good yarn hunting in San Francisco.  I confirmed it for myself at Imagiknit