Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? I’ll have to look at my calendar to answer that. On the tails of Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, Nurse’s Appreciation Day, Administrative Professionals Week, and leading up to Father’s Day and Grandparent’s Day, I started thinking.
Does designating a day or week to appreciate a certain occupation elevate it above others, make it more important than others?
I think, maybe. I hope not. First and foremost, I DO appreciate teachers, nurses, mothers, fathers, administrative professionals, and grandparents. However, there are countless people we encounter on a day to day basis and some who are behind the scenes that make our lives easier, more comfortable, more fun. Trash collectors, for example, those guys have a tough and thankless job. Day after day they climb into that stinky truck to pick up what we have discarded. And the lady at the post office who will peer through the back of our PO box and say hello when we are checking the mail and my three year old wants to look and see “who’s back there.” And the electrical line workers who are called out of bed at 2:00 am during the “storm of the century” and go to dangerous situations to repair high voltage lines for hours and hours, sometimes days and days.
I also wonder, do I express gratitude to everyone who makes a difference in my life? How am I teaching my children to be grateful?
When my children are with me, I try to point out certain jobs as we see folks in action and tell them why what they do is important. Help them imagine our lives without people to do those jobs. Kids also learn by example. Thank the bathroom attendant, leave a coffee gift card for the mail carrier, tell your favorite grocery store clerk that you don’t mind waiting in a longer line because you think he/she does a great job and you like going through their checkout.
I want them to be thankful for those who impact our everyday lives in big and small ways. I also want them to choose their careers and paths in life based on what they know they were meant to do and what they have a passion for, not what the world touts as “important” because there is a day or week to celebrate it. Every person has and impact on our world. Every person has something valuable to give whether they are nurses, deli workers, teachers, architects, auto mechanics, carpet cleaners, doctors, moms or dads, bank tellers, pet groomers, writers…the list is endless. I will be proud of my children no matter what career path they choose. I will be thrilled with my children if they grow to be people who appreciate and show gratitude to others not only for what they do, but also for who they are.
Who would you like to thank this week? How will you show gratitude?
