This week's thank you: For all the little things

For the first time in the long time, I struggled to write my thank you note this week. Sometimes I need to review my calendar for the past few days to nudge my colander-like brain because there is always someone to thank. Always someone who has gone out of their way to help, or just is awesome and needs to be reminded.

This week I struggled because there wasn't one big thing. There were so many little things. So many people who didn't have to be asked twice. People who responded quickly. People who didn't hesitate to lend a hand or offer their advice.

It's so easy to take these small acts of kindness for granted, in others and in ourselves. The person who holds the door so you don't have to dig for your key card. The person who brings a cart so you don't have to haul all the crap you've accumulated at your desk over the past two years box-by-box to your new cube down the hall. The person who didn't laugh (out loud) when you accidentally ran the cart into the wall on your way down the hall. The people who stop by your new desk to welcome you to the new Cube City neighborhood.

Individually, these can be taken for just good manners. Or just being a nice person. It's more than that. It's empathy and deciding to make someone else's life a little better.

Individually, they are nice gestures and may elicit a brief smile. Together they keep the cold, the dark and the lonely from seeping in. While I may not write a thank you note for each one, having people in my life who open doors, bring carts, say hello and don't laugh when I already feel stupid make me so grateful.

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