A Note of Thanks

Treasure Map, Ahoy! by Ted Major on Flickr CC BY SA The comfort zone is rarely comfortable. Especially if you know there is more out there. Sure, in the comfort zone you know what to expect. There are few surprises. But it's more familiar. Easy. Default. Not really comfortable. I've been planning for the past 18 years to leave Columbia, MO. It's a nice place to live, sure. But it's familiar. Very few surprises. I know there is more out there. But each time I start to think that maybe this is the time, something happens that I let derail me. I take comfort in the default. In few surprises. What I let derail me were excuses. Yes, it would have been harder to move somewhere else when my son was a baby. Yes, I might not have gotten a good job right away. Or I might have gotten a better one. I talked myself out of the unfamiliar and stayed with what was safe. A few months ago, I was traveling with a co-worker to visit schools in Texas. "I love it here," ...

She's a perfectionist. She wants to know how all the pieces fit together before she gets started on the puzzle. She is also a little introverted, not wanting to cause issues and definitely not interested in presenting in front of groups -- clients or peers. For some, she can be a little frustrating -- the person who asks the detailed questions before the process has been fully hashed out. For some, she seems like an anchor, not interested in changing her well-defined method. But as it turns out, she just needs a little time and a better understanding of the reason why. I first recognized there was more to Deb when she asked me to show her around LinkedIn and help her get a profile started. She had several clients reach out to connect with her on the networking platform, so she saw the benefit. She just needed a little help understanding how it all worked. I explained the overall platform, showed her a few profiles I thought were well done and went through the privacy settings ...

Gifts by Polly Goncalves on Flicker CC BY NC In another installment of things I didn't actually know existed, February 17 was Random Acts of Kindness day. A day devoted to small tokens of appreciation to people you know, barely know or who are complete strangers. I like to think of thank you notes often as random acts of kindness. People don't often realize the impact their positive attitude, willingness to help or simple gestures have on the people around them, so a hand-written thank you note many times appear random. While I honestly believe most people enjoy the unexpected surprise of a hand-written note, sometimes I feel like a small gift included with those notes makes the surprise even better. I've gotten in the habit of including a little something extra when I can, especially for those notes that are hand delivered. Here are a few of my favorites: Chocolate: High-quality, individually wrapped candies such as Ghirardelli or Godiva are pretty easy to come b...

Day 148: The End of the Line by Bruce Guenter on Flickr CC BY Have you ever found an amazing TED talk that just blows your mind, but when you start sharing it, you realize everyone has already seen it? That's how I feel after learning about InCoWriMo. I've known about NaNoWriMo for awhile, thanks to a bumper sticker I saw a few years ago and was so perplexed by the acronym that I had to look it up. But as a hand-written note fan, I'm a little disappointed that InCoWriMo is celebrating their fifth anniversary and I'm just now hearing about it. What is InCoWriMo? International Correspondence Writing Month is dedicated to writing letters by hand. One letter a day for the 28 days of February. Their website , tagged vintage social media, provides more information. The goal is to write something that will be delivered to someone else. A letter. A note. A postcard. It doesn't even have to be mailed. With a nod to More Love Letters , it can be as simple as...

Small by Jh.44 CC BY on Flickr In proof once again that pronoia is a thing, I stumbled upon  Adam Rifkin's amazing post on the meaning of happiness. It's long, but awesome. You should read it. His list of five-minute favors really spoke to me. In this time of societal upheaval and uncertainty, my initial instinct is to put my head in the sand and wait for someone else to fix it. But I know that won't work. Even so, I've never been an outspoken person. I stopped wanting to do anything with politics after I lost the election for Class Secretary in 6th grade. I've never been to a protest or called my senator. While it never even crossed my mind to jump on a plane to join the Women's Marches in DC and other places, I watched with mad respect for all the people there sharing their voices. But that's not me. I have to remember that it's okay to start small. There are people around me who need an act of kindness, and those small acts help others feel...

Bubble by zacktionman on Flickr CC BY NC Empathy is a strange thing. It's difficult to truly put yourself into someone else's situation until you really know that person. Until that situation has a face. A voice. A smile. It's one thing to see the ASPCA ads with the Sarah McLauchlin song in the background. It's completely different to fall in love at first wag with a pound puppy. In my bubble of Midwestern, white, fully employed, fully insured optimism, it's not always easy to do more than sympathize with the struggles of so many. Fears of medical bills that make care unattainable. Fears that ignorant comments about skin color, religion or sexual preference become acceptable and not called out for their blindness. Fears that my family will be torn apart simply because the country they were born in is on a list. This is when I rely on the people I actively add to my life through social media and through real life connections. I need to hear the stories of pe...

There are situations in life where no normal sympathy card makes sense. There are relationships that don't fit into the love or friend category. Times when Just for Fun cards that don't have a swear word do not come close to describing what is about to go down. When you are looking for those kinds of cards, go to Emily McDowell    ( http://emilymcdowell.com/collections/greeting-cards ). She's got you.  A personal favorite: I'm a grown-ass lady and I do what I want.  You just thought of someone who would appreciate that, didn't you? Cards are a reasonable $4.50, and if you buy six or more single cards, you get 25% off your card order. Hat tip to two blogs that made sure I checked out this site: The Bloggess and Susannah Conway .