Monday greetings to all of you!
We are officially into February and the second month of 2023!
The month that includes my FAVORITE holiday of all time.
In case you didn’t know that holiday is Valentine’s Day and that was 150% sarcasm.
This past week, I traveled to Florida with colleagues’ from Webstaurantstore to the NAFEM show in Orlando.
It was a wonderful trip that included a lot of learning about different new products from manufacturers while also making connections and networking.
It made for some great moments in my career along with energizing conversations with my colleagues.
It also meant anxiety about flying and nights of minimal sleep.
Mr. Sunshine hit crash mode with the exhaustion.
The Sunday afternoon nap that I took before writing these words for you was much-needed and felt glorious.
Anyhoo, I won’t keep you long this week.
We will keep with the short and sweet…sweet and short theme.
Here are just a few places where I experienced kindness in the past week.
- On Monday, I had an appointment with a dermatologist about some moles on my body. I was incredibly anxious for multiple reasons, but the entire staff that I met (Dermatology Partners on New Holland Avenue) were wonderful. The front desk individual, Emily was so kind and considerate and helped me make sure I was all taken care of with insurance. My card wasn’t showing active and she was so thorough in doing research and making sure everything was fine. Abby, the nurse who prepped me for the doctor, was so considerate of how anxious I was and complimented me on my fun socks and was calming in her demeanor. And Dr. Fuq was fun, informative, and kind beyond words with making sure I was OK every step of the way. For how heavy I was breathing sitting in the waiting room, I left feeling relaxed and less anxious. And that was a big part because of the kindness that I was shown by individuals I had never met before. (Side note: a mole was removed from my body that is going to get a biopsy done, so results should be available within the next week or so. Good vibes and thoughts are welcome).
- My coworker, Jess provided me with an adorable care bag (complete with a sweet note) on Tuesday morning to help with my anxious feelings about flying. It was such a sweet gesture, and I was happy to enjoy some of the calming tea that was included on my shuttle ride to the Philadelphia airport.
- The flight attendant crews from American Airlines. It is amazing what a simple smile along with an encouraging and friendly tone can do to someone, especially when that person (me) does not enjoy flying.
- Meeting a customer at the apothecary on Saturday named Lauren Tait who is working on a theater project at Mickey’s Black Box Theater in Lititz. I talked to one of her friends the other week about being involved in theater myself, so it seemed like fate that she happened to be in the apothecary buying band-aids and got to meet me at the register in-person while talking about her vision and creation.
- The woman at EPAC that came up to me and said that I swing my hips so well that she was jealous of me and gave me a huge hug and provided some love and laughs to the evening.
- My colleague from the apothecary, Maria hearing about my fear of flying and letting me borrow her acupuncture bracelet to use on the flights to assist with my calming me down.
Well, there you have it.
I got to experience kindness in several different places from multiple people that past week that helped me recharge my power supply after some days that were draining.
I hope you can be recharged with moments of kindness this week that you provide to others around you.
In return, I also hope you get the opportunity to receive some moments of kindness too.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 