it pays to read the mail

I had a really long, busy day at work. I had barely any break, and in fact had to work on one project right through my lunch hour. I managed to find 10 minutes later in the afternoon to scarf down the salad I bought this morning on my way in. I didn't leave until well after 5:30, when I can normally get out of the office by 5 on a Friday.

On my way home, I did a little retail therapy. Chief on my list of purchases was a cute orange purse at Target, and a birthday present for my niece who turns 4 tomorrow. I arrived home and puttered about the apartment for a bit. In an effort to clear my coffee table, I picked up a few pieces of mail that have been sitting there for several days and finally read them.

One of the items was the volunteer newsletter for the children's hospital where I spend my Tuesday evenings. I have been volunteering there for nearly 3 years now. I opened up the newsletter and saw my face staring back at me on page 3.

I am the April 2008 Volunteer of the Month.

I had no idea! I thought maybe the volunteers got a letter or something. I remember Annie, the music therapist who is my "boss", taking the photo a few weeks ago when she was getting photos of the activity we were doing that night. It's funny, because I'm sure she must have thought the other night that I knew already.

Well, seeing that totally made my day. As I talked about in an earlier post, I sometimes feel a very strong need for some sort of recognition of what I do. I am never quite sure of my place in the world, I guess, and whether I am making any sort of valued contribution. The children's hospital is one place where I have almost always felt appreciated even without a formal award, but I won't lie... it feels pretty good to have earned the honor. :-)

Really, the best recognition of all comes from the children. When they smile and laugh and forget their pain a little, and I know that I helped them do that, it's the best feeling in the world.