Friday, March 8, 2013

40 Days of Gratefulness - Day 21

Who doesn't love a surprise? I mean I love 'em. I love being in on them and I love being the recipient. I know, 3rd grade, right. I'm always intrigued by folks who don't like them. They make me go bananas. Just the other day, my roomie (Day 23) tells me 'Hey, I wrote you a note.'  Nothing out of the ordinary as she loves to write. My reply 'Cool, I like notes.'

But when I leave to go to work not only did she write me a note, she wrote me 23 notes. Grr, how in the world am I going to concentrate at work? Then I thought - haha - another Lenten moment. For lent, I was to stop cursing (work in progress, baby ;-) and exhibit more patience. Well, this was nothing short of an opportunity to exhibit patience. Really? It didn't work, my 3rd grade mind, wouldn't let it go. Hmmm, what where these notes about? Why the number 23? Michael Jordan came to mind but she's no sports buff and that's probably the only athlete whose number I know by heart. My mind was racing. There was no way I was going to make it until the end of the day to open them.

That reminds me of an Oprah I once saw. The show was about the Marshmallow Experiment, a study which suggested that being able to delay gratification was an indicator of success. I can't remember how success was defined but it boiled down to this. Kids were given one marshmallow and left alone in a room. If the kids could wait some length of time, say 2-3 minutes, then they would get an additional marshmallow.

It was great, some kids bust out crying right away. Potential losers? ;-) Who knows? Some kids picked it up, played with it, twirled it between their fingers. Some licked it, looked around nervously and put it back down, shaking their hands with anxiety. And some kids simply popped it in their mouth, that would have definitely been me. Potential loser? HA!

But back to the surprise, all morning I'm moving these notes all over the place in the car. I put them in the glove box. Oh, no they could get dirty. No, the storage on the dashboard or maybe even on the driver's side door. By the end, they made it in my purse and I was off to work.

By then, I had time to think. Hmm, what if they were moving? Every woman knows the rule 'There is no crying at work,' period. And let me tell you this 'grateful thing' will mess you up. My head is constantly in the clouds - a gospel song could take me under. Shoot, Phyllis Hyman's Meet me on the Moon tears me up thinking about it, right now. And I'm more expressive ... one of my friends said that about me. I wasn't sure what she meant at the time but she said it like it was a compliment - so, I accepted it. But after 21 days of being grateful, I get it. It is absolutely necessary for me to tell folks how I feel about them. My mind is a constant buzz to 'hug somebody's neck' or tell 'em that I love 'em - yup, just like that.

Needless to say, it doesn't matter how big the surprise is, I get excited because I appreciate someone taking the time out of their day to think of me. My roomdog (Day 2) tries to downgrade any surprise by calling it a treat because she knows how I am. It doesn't matter, it's still a surprise, no matter what she calls it  and I'm ready to approach it with the same verve I always do. That could very well explain why the last treat/surprise she gave me, a cheesecake brownie, never made it out the parking lot and I beamed all the way home.

So, what could it be - more custom prayers? Or even better, a poem or was it a 'Thank You' note? I could feel there wasn't any gift cards in them. Better not, she's on a strong budget. Oh, I know maybe her favorite bible verse. Or maybe my favorite bible verse - yeah, I'm still working on memorizing bible verses, so any verse that folks write down and give me - they become my favorite. I know, keep praying for a Sista. Or was it a scavenger hunt? I know but this is exactly where I go. I touch them, stack them and then sufficiently shuffle them around. First, arranging all the evens, then the odds. But the statistician buried somewhere deep inside me required that I start in order. I laugh out loud as I try to remember the summation equation for a series from 1 to 23.

Guess what? They are not prayers or poems or even bible verses. They are reasons why she's grateful for yours truly ;-) What made this even better is that I, too had planned surprises for 2 folks as well. I've decided that little notes will accompany them and I hope they enjoy their surprise as much as I enjoyed mine.

So on Day 21 of 40 days of gratefulness, I'm grateful for surprises ... that keep me encouraged. #beblessed #40daysofgratefulness

2 comments:

  1. :-) you make me laugh out loud! God bless you and thanks for sharing! Gratitude is definitely a spiritual discipline that we need to practice more often in our lives... I believe we would see a decline in sickness and disease, an increase in healthy relationships, strengthening of families, and increase in revenue generation. Blessings are connected with an attitude of gratitude. If nothing else, gratitude makes you more aware of just how blessed you already are!

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  2. THIS POST MADE ME LAUGH SO MUCH. ARE YOU A COMEDIAN? I LAUGHED AGAIN AND AGAIN AS I THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT I LOOKED LIKE RIDING THAT INSIDE BIKE AT MIDNIGHT IN 'THAT' GETUP. DON'T WORRY THOUGH BECAUSE WHEN I DO BLOW UP THE SUPRISES MIGHT BE A CAR LIKE GAYLE OPRAH TYLER PERRY DO! JUST SHIP IT TO CEL - THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY.

    ADRIANE'S COMMENT YESTERDAY MADE ME WONDER: ARE YOU GOING THROUGH THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! IS THIS BLOG TAKING YOU TO THE OTHER SIDE. THERE IS A CELABRATION TO BE HAD IF SO. I SEE TASTY TREATS IN YOUR FUTURE. IS THERE A DADDY POST COMING? IF SO WE'RE ABOUT TO BUST THIS WALL WIDE OPEN.

    I THINK SOMETHING HUGE IS HAPPENNING HERE AND I AM GLAD THAT I HAVE A SEAT AT THE SHOW.

    IT'S FUNNY HOW TONI IS POSTING HER COMMENTS AS ANONYMOUS BUT THEN SHE SIGNS HER NAME TONI. THAT'S CUTE.

    I BETTER START SAVING MY PENNIES BECAUSE I SEE WE ARE GOING TO BE RIDING MANY PLACES THIS SPRING ON OUR BIKES. CHERRY BLOSSOMS HERE WE COME. GREAT FALLS HERE WE COME. WILSON BRIDGE HERE WE COME. BETHESDA HERE WE COME. LET'S MAKE IT INCREDIBLE.

    SNW

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