Spring is here!

Is it really April already? Yippee! The sun is coming out, the flowers are blooming and it was over 15 degrees yesterday and I am sure it is even warmer than that today! I am so happy to see the signs of Spring and the inevitable promise of Summer around the corner. Life just keeps moving along, whether we want it to slow down or speed up, it just keeps chugging.

My post today is inspired by my gratitude. I (like many others, I am sure) can feel like the things I do at work don't really matter or that when I help out in some way that no one really notices. After all, it is usually a crisis that garnishes attention not the everyday maintenance of a working unit. I have split my work inbetween 2 locations (temporarily) and have found that while it is a bit disruptive to my schedule obsessed nature, it does add some variety and it helps out someone else who needs that extra day of assistance.

On Friday I was working at my 1 day a week location and a co-worker stopped by the office. Her name is Willow and I have worked with her on and off for about a year, but most recently she took over my job while I filled in for my boss who was on paternity leave for 6 months. So, I got to know Willow fairly well and found that she is energetic (if you met her you would know that the word energetic doesn't even begin to cover it!), smart, teachable, fun and realiable. I really enjoyed working with her and I miss that dynamic. Anyway....Willow stopped by on her day off and brought in some Easter chocolate to the office. She also brought in a Starbucks gift bag (which I assumed was just a carrying bag for whatever she had with her).

She handed the bag to me...and I was thouroughly confused! It is not my birthday, or any other occasion that could warrant a gift; but she told me to read the card. So I opened the card and found lots of writing (I LOVE a card filled with the sender's handwriting!) basically thanking me for helping her out while she has been working part time and going to school full time. It was a really sweet card, with some humourous bits thrown in too, and it totally made my day. Not only was there a card but a beautiful orange and red Satrbucks mug! Plus a gift card, plus some Reese's mini eggs (which I basically got her addicted to!). I was so overwhelmed with this unexpected card and gift, I could have cried! But I held it together and thanked her.

Sometimes the little surprises in life are worth the crap heap of other stuff you have to get through to find them! And so today, as I sip my mocha in my new mug I am filled with gratitude. There are so many things to be thankful for, I just need to find them and remember them for those days when I wonder what the world is coming to!