Appreciation & Kindness

Big flakes of snow came steadily down as I drove to work this morning and for most of the morning. My "pic of the day" is of the snowfall we had in early January, but the snow outlined the trees today in a similar fashion although we didn't have as much snow as we did sleet and snow slush.

Today was most remarkable by the nomination that my supervisor and I wrote together to nominate a fellow co-worker. Over the past two days we both worked to craft a nomination that adequately portrayed and captured our co-worker's kind spirit and unique abilities. I was so excited when we had submitted it and we were able to tell her. It was like Christmas waiting for someone to unwrap the gift bought especially for them. I couldn't contain the secret any longer. Our nominee was very touched and it truly was "better to give than to receive". I enjoyed the look on her face and her thankfulness. But what I enjoyed more was knowing that we made her day and that she could go home on a Friday and truly enjoy her weekend knowing that her work is appreciated by her colleagues and that we cared enough to recognize her. It meant a lot to me to be able to give a "warm fuzzy" to someone else and I so enjoyed seeing her reaction.

Outside of that, I only had one student appointment today but it was a rather difficult one and then I spent a lot of time identifying and notifying a group of students doing fieldwork soon. I also had my weekly Friday office yoga class and spent the remainder of the day trying to calm down my email inbox which resulted in me working over. I can't hardly resist working over when it is quiet and I can zip right through my email.

I came home not feeling so well and we watched the movie, Amelia, which was very good. Paul had completed a lot today and in addition he had a nice comfort food dinner waiting for me when I came home along with a fire in the fireplace.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved; clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

Warmth and Kindness

It is so nice to finally have temps above freezing again and to get rid of some of the snow! My "pic of the day" symbolizes how a lot of us must have felt recently as we stretched upward to the sunshine and the warmth it provided. I'm already wishing it was spring.

This photo makes me think of other types of "warmth" within our daily lives - a smile from a stranger, a friend's hug or a random act of kindness. I also think about how we greet and treat each other with "warmth."

Some of the battles I fought in my personal life yesterday persisted today and I realized how cold some folks can be when you desperately need their help. I hope that I always treat others in my life with warmth. I challenge everyone to do a self check for "warmth" by pausing before replying to that e-mail or responding to that person, etc. Sometimes the smallest extension of kindness can go farther than we can ever imagine, and vice versa as the smallest act of meanness can have a lasting impact. Today I did make a few steps forward in my legal situation and I do hope that some things can be resolved before the weekend.

Tomorrow think of where you can display, bring or leave an expression of kindness.