In Other Words

Isn’t it amazing how quickly a day can change? Probably we pay more attention when it’s a great day that abruptly becomes shitty, but today was not that day for me.

I have been fighting a cold and exhaustion and I was certainly in no mood to go back to work so soon after Christmas. I have editing deadlines to meet and 11–7 at the clinic is not really my favourite shift.

It was a good thing Colin had already scraped off the car and shovelled the driveway because I was dragging my ass out of the house at precisely the time I was due at work. The driving was slow and though I tried to speed things up, no amount of cursing was going to make the half-wit in front of me care that I was late and therefore drive faster than 30km an hour. Poor baby Jesus. His name was used a lot this morning!

Needless to say, I arrived at work simultaneously riled up and tired. But something weird happens to me as soon as I step through that office door. I’ve made a rule for myself that I never take a bad day to work, and that seems to have stuck without me making much effort. Even though I was mad enough to spit, instead I made my boss laugh when I described to her why I was late. She seemed to brighten up herself and forget her frustration as she was trying to book a ticket to Florida online.

And then she said, “Well, to brighten up your day, I brought you a little something. I wanted to give you a special extra thing [she'd taken us to lunch a few weeks prior as our Christmas gift], because, well, you’re the best receptionist I’ve ever had.”

My jaw dropped. And then it dropped further when her card revealed a quite substantial gift certificate to Chapters. I was so thrilled I actually jumped off the floor and did some weird Elaine dance kick. I thanked my boss profusely and excitedly and she made everything even better by saying it was well worth it.

After chatting about our holidays (because the first patient had cancelled and we had time), we got down to work, but my day had changed so significantly by then—a burst of sunshine on an otherwise dreary, stressful day.

But it wasn’t over yet. To top it off, my time at the office lasted all of three and a half hours, since most of the patients cancelled due to bad weather. I left almost four and a half hours early.

Although I can’t stop thinking about my boss’s surprise gift and how much it means to me, I also can’t help but think about how much such a thing can really alter someone’s output. I drove home in an excellent mood after putting my best foot forward in getting as much as I could done beforehand. I totally believe in random acts of kindness, and my boss’s thoughtfulness has made me feel very inclined to pass on the good will, if even in some small way.

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