Welcome to the first Monday of a very very busy month. I was not looking forward to this Monday, not that I ever look forward to such an evil day. I actually woke up (before the alarm clock!) and thought it was Sunday. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that it was in fact Monday. Very disappointed.
But let me take you through my day, even if it is only 4 pm.
I arrived at our weekly meeting a few minutes late. A huge problem for me and something I actually have been trying to work on. It's the first meeting in awhile that I've been late to. Still not a good thing.
Meeting went as well as any of those meetings could possibly go. Friends and I went to lunch, which was pretty uneventful. Love them, but going to lunch is not a huge deal for us. Then part of my after-lunch-ritual is going to the mail room to check my mail. On my way back to the office, I noticed a couple of gentlemen in uniform. Marines, no less. (I love the Marines-if I have to join a military branch, it would be the Marines. Hands down!) Not something we see every day here. It's a small campus so I notice things like that. They seemed lost and instead of giving them directions, it was easier for me to just show them where to go. It seems natural for me to do something like that. Must be that Filipino hospitality that is so ingrained in my soul. Wish I was exaggerating.
They asked if that was on my way to wherever it was I was going. It wasn't. I just didn't mind doing it. So I chatted with them and we walked a little bit more since the person they intended to see wasn't in their office. I showed them a little bit of campus, talked about how beautiful the weather was (seriously! It's 68 degrees outside right now!) and how horrible the food was in the cafeteria, and how it can't be any worse than prison. We went our separate ways after a few minutes.
I went to my office then went to a meeting that I only really needed to be in for about an eighth of it. I just needed to present my program and move on. While at the meeting, my phone rang. When my work phone rings, I answer. Always. Unless it's the weekend, which this day isn't, no matter how much I wished for it to be otherwise. It wasn't so bad. It was a student worker who just wanted to inform me that I got a special present in the office. I couldn't concentrate on the meeting after that. I tried to come up with a million excuses to leave the meeting and go see what this present was. I'm such a little kid. When I wasn't thinking about how to get out of the meeting, I was thinking about who it could be from and what it could be. My birthday is still a few weeks away, so it couldn't be flowers. Any other packages would be sent to the mail room. It did cross my mind that those Marines left a note for me, but that's it. Then I wondered again if someone did think to send me flowers a month before my birthday. Unlikely, but my hopeful little heart couldn't help but wish such an impossible thing.
I almost bolted out of the meeting when it ended, but ended up running into the dear (ummm, wrong word. strong? intimidating?) Marines. They mentioned that they left a mug for me in the office. I was touched! Truly! The surprise was ruined, but I couldn't keep from smiling. I was so excited! It really was nothing for me to take these gentlemen around campus. I would like to think that anyone who had the time would do the same thing. I would want someone to do the same thing for me.
And so, even though I still have so much left to do and am still stressed with the amount of work, I have a mug to remind me that no matter how crazy and stressful life is, I need to take the time to reach beyond myself and love on those around me.
Semper Fidelis.
No comments:
Post a Comment