Monthly Archives: November 2010
Thanksgiving came and went, with little leftovers, except a slight case of indigestion from overeating. Dwight’s niece went into labor the following morning and tiny, beautiful Lily Marie was born. Sad part, baby’s grandmother had to stay home and miss the blessed event due to a case of pneumonia. She had posted on Facebook several times to her daughter as she was recuperating from the delivery. In her last post, she mentioned having a “tear” then said ” I will come by and see you tomorrow, even if it is only through a glass door.” I wonder how many of us woke up today and are in pretty much the same spot with our own lives. Days go by and life runs through our fingers like a stream of water from a faucet, we shed a tear here and there as we look at our life to be as if through a glass door.
We see what our life could be…we can almost reach out and touch it…the places we could be going, sights we could see, the things we could be doing, those we would maybe meet, the difference we could make…but it is only as if through a glass door.We feel something is blocking our way, keeping the things we desire the most, just out of our grasp. What is keeping us from the life we were meant to have? Is the glass door a difficult relationship that has lost its joy? Are we in a dead end job? Have we lost the motivation to dream the big dreams for ourselves? Are we stuck because too many changes must happen before the glass can be shattered for us? Or maybe we just need to just take a look at the door again…a door has a knob for a reason. And interestingly, the knob fits our own hand.
This is the week of one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. It’s a time when family and friends get together and thank each other and the Lord for the bounty they have enjoyed. And it is a moment to remember with humility the reasons they have both people to celebrate with, and blessings to celebrate for. It has been a year of varied emotions and events at our home and in our family, and I was thinking about many things this morning while I pondered the holiday and wrote the staff a Thanksgiving memo.
I write random notes to the staff that we fondly call “Boss Lady Notes”, covering various topics and encouraging tidbits. This one was to thank them for being those who lift my life up and give me something as an employer that I can count on and enjoy in my own job as a CEO, and that is an assurance of a job well done. It was also written to remind them that although there are those who, from time to time, may fall short of their own expectations in their own lives, and there are days turning out less than ideal, there are also always reasons to be thankful if we only take the time to look and listen. I have included the memo below and hope it will encourage any of my readers here as well. May God richly bless you and yours this holiday season…
I’m Thankful for You
Thanksgiving is the appointed time
for focusing on the good in our lives.
In each of our days,
we can find small blessings,
but too often we overlook them,
choosing instead to spend our time
paying attention to our problems.
We give our energy
to those who cause us trouble
instead of to those who bring peace.
Starting now,
let’s each be on the lookout
for the bits of pleasure in each hour,
and appreciate the people who
bring love and light to everyone
who is blessed to know them.
You are one of those people.
On Thanksgiving,
I’m thankful for you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
This was a week of many ups and downs…events almost daily gave many moments of reflection and reasons to regroup. Grandson Cody Ryan unexpectedly entered the world on the first day of the week, 6 weeks early. Stress tests have been a regular part of the pregnancy because Cody has short bowel syndrome and is health-compromised.
He is doing well, but will have a long road ahead of him, as will his young parents. Cody’s big brother, Brendon, was the couple’s first child and is also dealing with the same condition. Brendon has never left the hospital and is now 15 months old…so both babies will be under special care in the same children’s hospital. My mother’s 70th birthday was the following day and it is amazing to think of her at that age. Mom has been through a period of some ill health this year, but she is so active and eternally young looking, it is hard to fathom she is not my age. My daughter, granddaughter and I took mom to a chinese buffet and then thrift stores and goofing off, and by the end of the day she was still fresh as a daisy. I hope I can grow up to be just like her.
On Monday, an office staff member left, giving no notice. Just packed up, sat her office keys on the file cabinet and walked out the door. No prior incidents, no problems with her behavior or work perfomance at all…then just…gone, to the great surprise of both myself and my operations manager. Similar incidents have happened in the past and I used to take it much more personally than I do these days. I can see, from talking to others in business, that this is a rampant problem with most businesses. The days of company loyalty and personal integrity are fast becoming a thing of the past. In the interest of not having to explain their actions, many will choose to “look bad” rather than just say ” I need a change, I need to move on”. And so I decided to look at it as a chance to move forward with new blood myself. Funny thing, I had not one but TWO applicants that want to work our front office and they contacted us within 24 hours of the walk out. God knows what He is doing, and if I really believe this, then I know the company’s best is always on His heart and mind, even more so than on mine. So we move on, excited about our future, and the possibilities. It’s the same with the birth of Cody or the gentle aging of my seemingly forever-young mom. Sometimes what seems to be a sad situation or a hard place in our lives comes along and we can choose to shut down and say ” I quit.” Or we can know that Someone bigger than us is in control. Someone kinder than us cares about where we are, and where we want to be. Someone wiser than us knows what we would miss if the hard times didn’t come in our lives. Today was our Thanksgiving celebration with my daughter’s family and as I looked around the room, I reflected on how much I have in my life that is good and wholesome and worthy of a peaceful smile. I am thankful most of all for the Someone in my life. I am so excited to see what is around that proverbial bend for my family, my company, and me personally. And I am thankful and oh, so grateful I am not travelling alone. And I am especially thankful that Someone never says ” I quit.”