September 9, 2011

RECOGNIZE THAT OTHERS DO APPRECIATE YOU!!!

Today was the last day of my short-term subbing position helping out in a Kindergarten class. I was asked to help out for the first two weeks of school until the children got adjusted to the routine of attending school. Well, today was the last day of my assignment, and I was immediately reminded how much the teachers and other staff members appreciated my help as well as the other aide's help who had also been assigned to the same school. As we walked into the building this morning, the one teacher who we have been helping met us at the door and told us that there was a BIG surprise for us in the teacher's lounge. We walked in to find a big cake with the message "Thank You!" written on it and a dozen of the prettiest roses along with two cards for each of us. I have been a substitute for two years, and I have never had this kind of appreciation shown toward me. It was nice to be shown appreciation for doing something that I love to do: helping others!

You may be struggling through life, and you may think that no one out there appreciates what you do to help them, but I bet if you look more closely, you will find people who truly do appreciate what you do, and they would probably be lost without you. All day I kept hearing the teachers and other staff members talking among themselves asking each other what they were going to do without myself and the other aide. I kept hearing things like, "It's never going to work" or "We just cannot do it on our own!" It made me feel very wanted and needed.

Just last week I was thinking that no one really cared about me. I contributed this to the fact that when my husband was ill not very many of our friends or family members called or visited. Then when I had my car accident, I never received any phone calls from any friends or family members, and I was in the hospital with my organs shutting down. However, even though my friends and family members may not appreciate what I do for them, I do know that there are people out there who do appreciate everything that I do for them. Those teachers and staff members helped me to realize that I am needed, wanted, and appreciated in this big, vast world!