*Thursday, Sept. 29th, 2011: Today I am grateful for "pick-me-ups". This week has been a bit poopy with the transition, the crabbiness of my co-workers and all the changes at my workplace and yesterday was probably a 6 out of 10 as far as how good the day was. I taught my computer class from 1-2pm and then went to my office to eat my lunch. As I was eating my lunch, my phone rang from a (410) number...hmmm...who could this be. Well, it was none other than my program coordinator! I had totally forgotten that he was going to call so it was a pleasant surprise. We spoke for an hour about how everything has been going and he was so helpful with his advice and support. He told me, "maybe this year isn't about growth with your job, maybe it's about inner growth like how to deal with confrontations." It made me think that maybe because my year last year was so externally driven (my relationships with my job, my co-workers, my family, JVC, etc.) that maybe this year has been presented to me for a more internal purpose (self-growth and intimate relationship growth). Then, when I got home from going to happy hour after work with two of my roomies, I got a letter from a JV friend serving in Portland! What a pick-me-up! It was great to hear from him and hear about his experiences so far as a JV and his advice for me and my struggles. It was such a great ending to my day. So today, I am grateful for pick-me-ups in all forms of communication.
*Friday, Sept. 30th, 2011: Today I am grateful for a person, a senior who is a complete joy and blessing in my life. *Ms. Hurley lives in the nicest senior residential center we offer within our agency. It is a little fancier, to say the least, than the other residences we are in charge of. She is always early to lunch, she walks herself over to her same table each day and pushes her walker to the side and sits down. She smiles a huge smile at me and says, "Hello, Doll!" and sits down. She pulls out a paper napkin, flattens it out on her table and pulls out saltine cracker packets and butter she supplied for herself as a pre-lunch snack. It's so cute. I asked her once, why do you bring your own crackers? and she said, "because it could take forever for them to finally get the food ready for us and I'm hungry and grouchy!" One day, Ms. Hurley had a huge Halloween bulk sized bag full of mini-tootsie rolls and she was walking her little behind all around the dining hall, handing them out to the other seniors. She was smiling and putting them on the table as slyly as she could. She is just a little fire ball of compassion. I always serve her first because she's my favorite and she always calls me doll. She asks how I"m doing, if I found a man yet and if I still like DC. I hand her her tray and respond accordingly to her questions and she always ends it with, "thank you, doll." I love her and want to be like her when I'm 85 years old. She just shows me that although your body may be pooping out, your spirit and your attitude don't have to. So to you, Ms. Hurley, "thank you, doll."
*Name has been changed for obvious reasons.
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