Rhonda
What a great Saturday! It was brisk and cool when I got up, but the sun was shining on HeartWalk Day. Our company participates each year, raising money and walking together as we honor survivors and remember those family members and friends who succumbed to the disease. It is always moving to see the turnout, but even more so to watch as the survivors make the first lap in their red shirts and matching ball caps.
There was only a small group of our company members, all managers, that turned out to walk. My 2 year old granddaughter, Lorelai, was dressed out in Help Me Rhonda attire, in multi-colored sunglasses, her stroller bearing a sign letting the world know she is “new hire in training”.
Once the walk was over, Lorelai hopped in my car and we began a wonderful day together. We went “junkin'” as she calls it. Yard sales are some of our best fun. She always finds a treasure and GiGi doesn’t spend much to make her smile. She got a stuffed dalmation we named Spot and he even rode in the place of honor in the basket when we made a quick stop at Walmart. But by the time we started home, she was one tired chickie. I heard her ragged snoring in the carseat as we pulled into the driveway and laughed to myself. Watching her as she took the rest of her nap on a floor pallet, her little hand resting on her cheek and her breathing soft and kind of fluttery, I thought how nice it might be if she could just stay this small and innocent. It’s sad how quickly we lose our innocence and wonder. Relationships sour, jobs go south and we lose our quest for real contentment. Circumstances somehow convince us that happiness and wellbeing are elusive dreams and we stop trying to find ways to beat back the bully of our own misdirected thinking. Maybe more simplicity is the answer…an afternoon catnap…junkin’….cookies and juice…homemade rose-petal perfume…or maybe even an afternoon of making daisy chains. Sounds like an outline for happiness to me.
Wow…June at Gould’s Salon is my new best friend. I got a massage today and she is really great. I spent a good portion of the day trying to figure out how I could convince her that she needs to live with me. It was supposed to be an “in office” day, but once I left Gould’s…and June boohoo…I swung by Goodwill to see if I could find some shelving or cabinets or something to use in the TLC room , but nothing turned up so I wandered on to a few other errands including a run by the library for a book I had on hold, Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh ( pronounced Shay), former young CEO of Zappos.
I was already fascinated with the company and its mild-mannered leader, so when the book came out it was a must read for me. Imagine the excitement when I found out it was the next Book Club pick for the cleaning industry group I am a member of.
I can hardly wait to read it then pick the brains of those who have read it also to see how we can bring to life the same customer service phenomenon that he has helped create in his companies in our own businesses. After my errands were complete, I made the last stop one of my faves, Nagoya Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar near my office. I reveled in the clean atmosphere and clean food, as I began to turn the pages of the book for the next hour, while I ate a solo lunch. I don’t get to do so often, but today seemed, well, right for it. Upon returning to the office, we received a call from a lady wanting to get a cleaning bid, and I could tell by the conversation my office manager had with her on the phone, it was a sad situation that drove her to call us. As it turned out, the young woman’s husband had been ill for about 18 months, and the house had been a far second priority to her spouse’s care. The husband unfortunately had passed away 6 weeks before, and now she needed a great deal of help to get her surroundings, and life, back together. I hadn’t planned on doing any more bids this week, but the sadness struck a chord, and I went to meet her and view her home. The whole property inside and out was pretty much a totally neglected mess. It reminded me of Miss Havisham’s home as described in Great Expectations, almost as if the clock had stopped on this family 18 months ago when the husband and father fell ill. The woman was pleasant, but as we went through the home she became quite tearful, and so did I, as I saw the pain she was obviously going through just thinking about having to get things moving around her home again; this time alone. We set her up to get cleaned on Monday, and she looked relieved to know we could fit her in quickly. And, she looked a little hopeful as I left. That really made me reflect on the name of the book I was reading, Delivering Happiness. You know, it just doesn’t take much to make someone happy. Sometimes it just takes a Special Delivery.
Today was my first day in the office for the week. The last two days were spent touring the zoo with my mom, daughter and granddaughter, and then a second day at home reading. Wonder if I could find a way to get paid and do that every week! The weather has been incredible and it was so good to get away from the office a bit and rejuvenate. There’s nothing like fresh air and sunshine to calm the soul and put all things into perspective again. Today at the office went well and a lot of forward movement was made with decorating the TLC Room, The Learning Center, which is our brand new staff room.
We are decorating it with posters and memorabilia from the World War II era. Everywhere you look are pics of women working on airplanes or in factories, Rosie the Riveteer, and patriotic symbols in red, white and blue. We want a place where we can learn, and still be reminded that the sacrifice of women when they enter the workforce now is not so much different than it was then.
It is just as difficult to leave the family now, as it was for the men to leave their wives when the war front beckoned. The phones were ringing off the wall today with new business and we got great feedback from a new cleaning we did at the first of the week, and then secured her for a regular cleaning each month. Woohoohoo! Funny Facebook posting today from my daughter ended the day with a giggle. Two year old Lorelai has been learning all kinds of songs and rhymes for months now. She brings her mom a Kleenex tonight and sings to her “Dinah won’t you blow, Dinah won’t you blow, Dinah won’t you blow your NOSE”. Ha…gotta love it.
Today is the first entry into my blog. Interesting feeling that… never thought I would see myself become a “blogger”, although I was a journalism major and even write business articles and newsletter pieces from time to time. Not owning a computer until about 11 years ago, I am still trying to find my way around all the technology.
So to state, just by even beginning a blog, that I am dedicated to whatever blogging might require of me is pretty foreign thinking. Blogging…what is it anyway? Well, originally a blog was meant to be a web log of activity. (Ok, I’m a busy person, I will have activity, and I can document that frenetic movement.) Then blogging became a way of informing and involving your customers, friends, mere acquaintances and those few folks that fall upon your site accidentally in the major and minor happenings in your life. (OK, I will have plenty of content since there is always a lot going on around here and some of it is mildly interesting). Blog…from reading a few myself, maybe that word now translates into “Big Load Of Gossip”. (Ok, I can be random). So, to the reader, I say “Welcome”. Hopefully you will learn a little, live a little and laugh a little with me, as I share my big load of gossip with you.