Tending to business...

I am a micro business owner in a small town in rural Minnesota. Although it is a very tough business environment, especially trying to compete with WalMart and Amazon and online sales, we are keeping busy, and constantly looking for a niche that isn't being filled by anyone else close by. As with any business, the support of our local community will make or break us, and I am glad to say we have a lot of familiar faces walking through the door each week, which helps us keep a steady pace most of the time.

Recently, I realized I am falling behind on some of my tasks, so I am pretty excited to have hired a high school girl to work a few hours a week and help us out. But for me, this hire is not just about the filing that is piling up or paying someone else to do tasks for which I don't have time. I think hiring local kids is a vital part of the non-quantifiable contribution that local businesses make to our small community. It is an opportunity to influence our future by teaching our young people some of the most important life skills they will ever have, and build relationships that remain important long after they graduate and move on with their lives.

Judgement call....

I had one of those moments today.  You know the moment.  The one where you are pulled up short from your way of thinking, because you are slapped in the face with another reality that is completely different than what you thought, all in the course of a casual conversation.

It is so very easy for me to slip into a mind frame where someone else's facade is all there is.  They have more money.  They are more successful.  Their life is easier because X, Y, or Z has happened for them, and it hasn't happened for me.  I am not really resentful.  I am usually happy for them that they have a better life.  But I also figure they haven't walked in my shoes, so they just don't understand how I think or feel, and how I got there.

Happy birthday to me!

As most people in contact with me know, today is my birthday. I always think it will get lost in the shuffle, (I don't have any false notions about my own importance,) but just in case anyone didn't know, facebook has duly updated the world at large. And I have been overwhelmed once again by the number of people who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. It is a nice feeling to be remembered, and much appreciated.

 For the record, I am 57, and happy to be here. The best gift I will ever get is another day to wake up, because it has not necessarily been a given. I had a couple of very close calls in my thirties, and I definitely should have been gone at 40. I am a testament to the fact that a young doctor is not a bad thing. (Even if he did look like he was still in high school....)

Living the dream....

When people ask me in passing how I am doing, I usually reply,

"Living the dream."

It is an off the cuff statement, meant to be more sarcastic than serious, and in line with my usual attitude that life is hard, and then you die.  But today, for this day, I have been reminded that I am, indeed, living the dream, and I am grateful to be here for it.

Blessed to be a blessing is more than words....

Over the last few weeks, I have been playing piano in a small, rural church on Sunday mornings.  They are lovely people, warm and welcoming, and it has been a genuine pleasure to play for them.  They have been gracious in their thankfulness, and I appreciate that it comes from their heart. I am glad that I could help out in their time of need.

But, unbeknownst to them, the true gift was from them to me, and there has been a much needed lesson in this experience.  I have talked often about the impact of our actions upon others, but I now see the whole thing from a slightly different angle.  That small change is a quantum shift in my understanding which I will carry forward for the rest of my life.