On my way in to work this morning, I was struck by two things…
1. It was a beautiful morning. It’s snowing. We have about 5-6 inches on the ground. But it’s not cold. It’s not super-windy (yet… I think that comes later…). And you know what? It’s February. In Wisconsin. it’s supposed to snow. And it was beautiful and quiet and peaceful.
2. I am so, so grateful for the random people who do their jobs so that I can get to mine. No, I probably didn’t HAVE to be in the office today. I could have rescheduled my meeting. I didn’t have to be here to get work done. But I wanted to meet with my student. I wanted to see her face when we talk about her next steps and how I hope I can help her achieve them. I wanted to see my coworkers (this, for me, is a big big step!). And I’m so grateful… to the bus driver. The guy who always, always, has the longest stretch of sidewalk that I have to walk on to get to the bus stop cleared. The people who clear the paths here at the University. The people who cleaned the building last night (and, thank you, emptied my recycling bin, which was embarrassingly full…). They do their jobs, and then I can come do mine, and work with my student. I don’t know the name of the bus driver – although it’s a goal, since I see him every day! I don’t know the name of the random snowblower dude. I don’t know who they are – but I am so grateful to them.
So that’s how I’m starting my day. And you know what? there is something beautiful in every day. I need to seek that out – to shift my mindset from “I have to” to “I get to”. I know about 10 years behind the trends here on gratitude and thankfulness, but.. it makes such a difference to come in to work with a smile and a mental “thanks” to all who helped me get here.
Now time to get that work started…