today is the day...to say thank you. (an action post.)

Sam was a janitor at a small business and had been on the job for over 15 years.  Because of some changes in the company, he had gone from working the day shift to evenings and he missed being with his co-workers.  Being a janitor can make you feel great about your work when there are people around to appreciate it, but something about working the nightshift alone was well, lonely. 

On the night of his 50^th birthday, Sam went to work nearly tugging himself along. 

His wife and kids had asked him to take the night off, but Sam knew that if he didn’t do the job no one would and he just couldn’t bring himself to ask.  So he left his family behind and he went.  But when he walked in the door of office building that night he lost his breath for a moment. 

Hanging in the lobby were signs – purple signs, blue signs, yellow signs, all hanging from the ceiling.  Each read “Happy Birthday, Sam!” and had a personal note of appreciation and care along with the signatures of his co-workers. 

There are 76 employees in this company and at a glance Sam would have sworn that each one of them had created a birthday wish just for him.  And he was right.  He gathered his cart full of cleaning supplies and the smile on his face kept getting bigger and bigger.  He was touched by this kindness.  But the surprise wasn’t over. 

As he walked into each office area he noticed that all of the trashcans were empty and the spaces were clean.  The restrooms were stocked and not a bit of work needed to be done.  Sam felt a rush through his body. 

He wanted to run to the next room. 

He wanted to jump up and down and shout “thank you” to the world. 

Nearing the break room, he heard giggling.  With a mix of reluctance and excitement, Sam turned the corner.  Tears instantly filled his eyes as he locked in on his beautiful wife and their four kids.  There they stood with presents in hand and a birthday cake lit with candles to celebrate him. 

Sam later learned that the office manager had orchestrated the entire thing.  She knew the work that he put into the company and with the approval and support of the owner and her co-workers, the entire team had pulled together to show Sam that they appreciate and care about him and are grateful for the work he does every day to take care of so many others. 

Work was never the same for Sam after that night. 

Any feeling of loneliness was gone.  He felt pride when he walked in at night knowing that his work was important.  And every once in a while he would choose an office to leave a note of thanks for gifting him with the best birthday ever or for the work they do every day. 

Sam had learned a lot in his 50 years of life, but one of the most recent lessons was that a simple and genuine thank you can change someone’s life forever. 

 

~ today is the day...for you ~

Today is the day you are going to share a simple and

genuine thank you with someone. 

I mean really say thank you.

 

~ um, yeah, thanks… ~

The reality is that we say it dozens of times a day.  Most of the time saying thank you is like walking by a mirror and catching our reflection.  We don’t really care to look at ourselves, but it’s a habit.  With thank yous, we don’t always even know the words are coming out of our mouths, but we’ve been taught that it is polite and right, so we say the words without a thought.

The thank you that I am talking about is special.  Today is the day you are going to make a real connection when you say the words.

For me, it’s when I actually look at the server at a restaurant and thank her for taking care of me.  And I know the difference because I have said thank you lots of times when someone sets my drink on the table and if I am being honest, I don’t know if she was a blonde or a brunette because I never looked up.  Today I am going to look up.

This thank you comes when I walk into my child’s day care and I take a moment in the midst of chaos to tell her teacher how grateful I am that she agreed to take this job and keeps my precious child safe, happy and growing.

My sincere thank you is when I take a bottle of water to the trash collector on a hot summer day and tell him thanks for being there every week.  The reality is that I have passed him every Tuesday for the last year without a smile or a hello as I load in my car ready for work my water in hand.

Today is the day that you feel the thank you bubble up inside of you and when you say the words, you mean them with everything you have.

It’s hard to say what your thank you is going to mean to the other person.  We may never know.  But what if it is your thank you that makes them do a better job, be a better parent or be better to the people around them?  What if it is these simple, yet sincere words that change their world forever?

Today is the day to really say thank you to someone who deserves to hear it.

I hope that you'll become a part of this experience & decide to follow today is the day as we take our best of intentions & put them into motion to see what big difference our little actions can make together!

Feel free to post your experience here or email me at tinaattodayistheday@gmail.com.

Don't wait too long. After all...today is the day!