Why does it feel like the weekends come and go so much faster than the work week? Two days off is not enough time to cram in all the things that we need/want to do. Lucky for us down here, it’s snowing/hailing/raining this weekend, so that makes it easier to get the inside stuff done. (that was sarcasm in case you didn’t pick on that)
Scott asked me the other day if I had seen the spring deer around. We have a group that travel across our property in the spring and fall. Now that the snow is melting they are heading back up the mountain for the summer.
To answer his question, yes I saw them:
They have discovered the birdfeeder.
Then she saw me:
Then Scott saw her and he didn’t think it was so cute. He opened the window and yelled at her to keep moving:
She pretended to care that he was yelling at her, but then changed her mind within a few feet:
Only to come back again for another snack:
I love this game that we play every spring and fall. To me, it’s a part of the changing of the seasons.
Speaking of changing of the seasons (metaphorically speaking of course!), I have to share a wonderful experience that I had at work this week. I have never really had a mentor, you know, someone that you really look up to and try to emulate at work. Someone that you can go to for help with being a better employee. That one person that you want to impress more than anyone else.
That being said, I do have someone that I strive to follow in her footsteps and for a few hours this week, I had the honor of sitting with her and listening to her stories.
This is Sam and Elsie. They were instrumental in starting the volunteer fire department in our town in the late 1940’s. Sam was the first “Fireman of the Year” in 1954. I didn’t know this until Elsie told me the story. She said she would never forget that because they lived across the street from the fire station, and she was pregnant with their daughter, when Sam came home to tell her about the honor.
She was officially hired by the Fire District in 1960. That was 50 years ago!!! She spent almost 30 years working for the Fire District. The older generation of firefighters remember working with her. That’s always a special moment to see them with her when we all get together. You can see the respect they have for her. It’s the look that we all strive to get from others.
In moving into our temporary facility, we found a box of old photos that were not labeled in any way. There are very few people around that could help us solve the mystery of who these people were. We contacted Sam and Elsie and asked them for their help. Elsie, of course, jumped at the chance to come down to the office. She always says that she misses working.
We sat for a couple of hours and looked through some of the photos. Every photo brought back a story. Kim and I tried to catch as much of it as possible.
We asked question after question. I know that Elsie would have stayed all day, but Sam was good for about an hour. Hopefully, we can get together again and look at a few more pictures. The history that these two have between them is immeasurable.
For me, the opportunity to sit with Elsie, even for just a couple of hours, was priceless. She is the type of person that I strive to be. There are times at work with I ask myself, would Elsie be proud of me?
I hope that you have someone in your life that inspires you to be a better person, either at work or in your personal life. This meeting with Elsie was definitely the highlight of my week. A couple of hours that I won’t soon forget.
Well, there are cupcakes in the kitchen to be frosted, laundry to be folded, and dinner to be started. Just a few more hours to relax until the work week starts.
Have a wonderful week. We’ll catch up next weekend.
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