Don't you hate it when you read an article or hear a speaker and realize that they're talking to you? I don't like it, either, but I need it more often than I'd like to admit. Take for example, Patrick Mead's post of yesterday. He's a minister up near Detroit whose blog I read. I was reading along as he wrote about all the people he's helped, and not many of them write back to thank him. I thought, "That's terrible! Who do those people think they are? Uh . . . .oops." I had emailed him almost two months ago about a question I had (an educational question about my daughter). I hated to even ask, because I know he gets a lot of email. Well anyway, he responded (very promptly, I might add) with a helpful answer, and I didn't write back (until yesterday) to say thank you. I thought about it, but at the time thought that I didn't want to add any more email to his inbox. Is that lame or what? Like me, I'm sure he'd rather get email that's a nice thank-you than something he'd have to think about for a while and then take time to reply to, or worse yet an email that's not so nice. Thanks, Patrick, for reminding me to be more appreciative of people I come across.
It was still bothering me this morning when I got up to walk. So after I woke up (about 15 minutes into my walk) I thought about thankless jobs. The first one that came to my mind was a teacher, since I have been one. I quit teaching ten years ago in May. I taught Algebra and Geometry for 4 years at a private Christian school in Little Rock. What do you think I thought of first? Was it all the students I helped? Was it all the good friends I made? Was it the quiz bowl team I helped to start? No. It was the letter I received in April 1998 telling me what a bad teacher I was and that I just needed to leave and quit teaching. My dad had just died from cancer earlier that month, and I was already thinking of moving on to something else. It still really bothers me that some person out there probably thinks they made me quit. I almost didn't because of that letter, I was so mad. The letter was unsigned, of course. But I did quit and went to work as a computer programmer for almost 3 years before Emily was born. I don't regret that decision. It gave me a different work experience that I also enjoyed. Let me add that I liked being a teacher and it wasn't a totally thankless job. My favorite "rewards" were those times when I could see the light bulb go on when a student grasped something I was trying to get across.
The next thankless job I came up with was trash collector. The next one was a policeman or woman. How many people thank a policeman for giving them a ticket? Another one would be a waiter or waitress or a worker at a fast food place. Or how about a flight attendant or (shudder) the person at the airline ticket counter? I already say thank you to the cashiers at Wal-Mart or McDonald's and try to be very pleasant, but I will have to work on everyone else.
The older I get, the more important time seems to be. There are many times my kids will ask me to do something with them or get them something, and I say no because I don't want to take the time. I'm really embarrassed to write that, because I know my mom will read this! Even things I like to do seem to take a lot of time. Thanks to Flylady, I'm learning how to manage my time more wisely and keep my house in better shape, but I have a long way to go. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I need to be more appreciative of other people and their time when they share it. I also need to be more willing to give of my time to other people, especially my children.
Speaking of time, it takes time to write this blog. And if I'm going to devote time to writing this blog, I want it to be worth reading, which makes me want to rethink it. There are a few posts that I'm proud of, but I really do a better job at anything when it has more of a focus. Those of you who know me know that I do my best work when I can focus on that one thing. Also, it's depressing reading all those neat blogs out there that are so much better than mine (see list at right). I came across one today called unskilled housewife, and even though it's pretty new, it was entertaining AND informative. So, I will still write about our family's doings for the relatives and friends out there, but I will be trying to find my niche. I'm not looking for a large readership or recognition (even though I enjoy comments). I am open to any suggestions my 5 readers may have. :-) Some things I have thought about are: interviewing older people about their lives, mommy moments/funny things my kids do and say (not that original really, but it's what I'm living right now), recipe tester and reviewer, book reviewer, etc. Last Saturday I worked the computer for a swim meet, entering numbers and printing reports. It wasn't that hard, but it was nice to do something different. I'd like this blog to be something I could use to stretch my brain a bit beyond the normal everyday things I do. So please, let me know what you think.
2 comments:
Thank you for taking the time to let us get to know a small town girl!
Here's my opinion for what it's worth. I like your first idea - interviewing older people. A.) It would be a positive example for your kiddos. B.) You could probably learn a lot of ideas about all the other stuff on your list from an older person.
Hope you have a good week.
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