Thankful Friday (as in thank God it is not Thursday anymore)

This is me at 10:27AM yesterday morning.



This is me around 12 noon.




Yesterday, around 12 noon I was chewed out (expletives and all) by a customer. Actually, I was verbally abused, more than just chewed out. I have very thick skin, so to have been upset by someone speaking nonsense is unheard of. Actually, I have a high tolerance for foul language, to make it more unbelievable yet.

I won't explain the details, quite frankly because I am just worn out of explaining the occurrances to: my co-workers (who did not know what to do when I was so upset), my manager, my Sr. Manager, and recently my Director who wanted a write-up for HR.

The amazing thing to anyone that knows me well is that I never lost my cool and I never talked back. The amazing thing to my 18 year old who does not understand why I didn't break my hand against the phone is that I am just really glad for the lessons I have learned from this:

1. I should stop using foul language. It may seem harmless to me but it may be harmful to others. It also may send the wrong message even when I am not trying to be inpolite.

2. I am thankful for my job, my company, my co-workers and my manager. It is very nice to have people champion behind me and take this situation seriously (maybe a little too seriously).

3. I like my job, a lot. A little something in the back of my head was worried that I would get in trouble and I did not want to be in trouble, because I like my job.

4. I have made headway into a few of my secret goals for 2009. One of which is self-discipline.

5. Another one is re-encountering my fear of mediocrity.

6. The last one being allowing myself to feel what I am feeling. Granted, it is pretty easy to allow myself to feel anger, but it is going somewhere.

7. I have good friends who were upset WITH me and wanted to take this guy down on my behalf.

8. I have a very supportive husband.

9. I have encountered the WORST and handled it, which means I can deal with it ALL.

10. I have a new umphh to do my job and will do my best to prove the jerk wrong and show everyone that I am on top of my game.

11. I have the strength to not let one guy ruin my whole day. We laughed about the whole story last night. Me and my peeps from our very long-running Thursday Night Bible Study.

12. I can know win bad day poker and bad customer poker with one story.

13. I am an emotional eater, after all. This is a good realization because now I can work on controlling that.

All is well that ends well.

My favorite hymn that we sang last night:

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

What I am learning (Thursday 13)

The serious post is here, if you want to read a funny list of 13, skip here

1. Work Life balance is NECESSARY and HARD to maintain/create.

2. Working Out WILL, indeed, give you more energy. Write that down to remember when you don't want to go.

3. The need for friendship is NOT properly satisfied by the constant acquisition of random acquaintances. It is important to invest in people's lives and it is equally important to allow others to invest in yours.

4. Leave it all out on the field. Once you carefully choose a course of action, LEAVE IT ALL OUT ON THE FIELD.

5. It IS, indeed, true that: Second to trying and winning is trying and failing (LM Montgomery). As a corollary, it is shameful to not try at all, it is weak and shallow.

6. Do NOT judge a book by its cover. My best friends have found me before I was aware of them. Some of my favorite activities started with "I never will".

7. Do NOT look at the past in an attempt to re-live it. Look back only long enough to learn from your mistakes and LET IT GO. Once you do that, you will be stronger, happier and ready for new experiences.

8. Kids and the elderly hold the key! Look at things through their eyes and the smallest day to day tasks take on a new value and a new meaning. This so far seems to cure road rage, impatience, the desperate need to understand stuff and delusions of grandeur.

9. Them mice in your head that work double-time at making you doubt and wonder and not trust and second guess? FIRE THEM! Keep your conscience and common sense, but the mice are no good. Maybe without them you will be wrong about some things, but with them, you can never enjoy a good thing.

10. True friendships are indeed resilient and lasting. There is no sweeter taste than the realization that a "lost" friend was just on hiatus. True friendships are apparently re-kindled effortlessly, when you least expect it and when you most need it.

11. Do not let your fears have any impact on your choices/decisions and actions. It is silly to let thoughts of things you do not like direct your path.

12. LIVE LIFE! Enjoy every moment, every note, every red light, every falling hair, every rain drop, every puke, every cold, every germ, every tear, every laugh, every hug and every helping hand. Enjoy every little, big, old, young, new strong and weak gem that crosses your path. Do not do this because you are afraid it might be the last or you might lose your gems, do it because it is worth enjoying all that.

13. I miss my sisters more than anything in this world. My sisters are both wonderful, beautiful, smart, insightful people. It is a good thing God picks those because I could have never made a better choice and I would have missed out. My baby sister is amazingly trustworthy and loyal. My middle sister does not ever cease to amaze me and I doubt she ever will. If someone wrote a movie about our lives together (me and middle sis), it would HAVE to be a musical.