Tales of the Ordinary Days

A couple of days ago we had a team meeting at work. The main topic centered around serving our patients and what good service really meant. My heart tugged at the core theme of our conversation, kindness. Real, authentic, daily acts of kindness. Stories were told on both the receiving and giving of good service. All included a genuine act of goodwill to serve another. With purity of motive in simply wanting to care for another, an act of kindness cannot be measured in the size of the deed. The smallest actions can produce the largest rewards to the recipient. I shared a story of kindness given to a client in my prior life that later blossomed into a big business opportunity for me. My original act had no motive, but resulted in an unexpected gift back many years later. As others shared stories of good service and the importance of authenticity in our actions, my head swirled with my own receipt of small acts of kindness over my lifetime. These acts resonated with me and my own...

Garrett completed his 12th Triple Bypass this afternoon. 120 miles with 11,000 feet of climbing. Last year was the first year he missed (due to an unnamed someone in Omaha who had plans that didn't include Colorado). So today was all about Garrett. His day. A streak to be continued (minus a minor blip in 2013). And my kids were right by my side in this sentiment. Without hesitation, Zach and Grant bypassed a sleep-in-Saturday. They happily accompanied me to Vail to cheer Garrett on at the ride finish line. There wasn't a single word questioning the need for their attendance or complaints on better use of their time. In years past, this positive response from my boys wouldn't have given me a second thought. I would have expected nothing less. That's how they were raised and the kind of boys they are; ones open for an adventure and not questioning the keen skills of their parents in navigating the master calendar. I have since learned that not all kids are wi...

Janie purportedly "misordered" when she received this whooper! We celebrated Janie's 80th birthday a few weeks back. My friend Angelique's mom was in town on a visit. We gathered at Roja to raise our glasses for her glorious eightieth milestone. The waitress guessed her age to be 63. A common mistake. This story has been in sitting on my mind since our little birthday celebration. Although my time at the celebration was short, the conversation with Janie stuck. And the ironic part was that she hadn't a clue that the words she had spoken were impactful to me. I met Angelique when our boys were in basketball together in 2nd grade. Although many within my circle of friends via Grant's friendships came much earlier, not Angelique. But she was worth the wait. And with her friendship came her mom, Janie. Angelique had always described her exceptional mom as the original desperate housewife. Every trip to Omaha included the appropriate nightly moisturizer ...