Author: Henry L.

Monday is never a good day for me, but last Monday was especially awful. The power had gone out the night before due to an intense thunderstorm, (which didn’t stir me from my slumber at all) and my alarm clock reset itself to 12:00 am. I woke up in a panic upon realizing that I was half an hour behind schedule. Great start to the week. I rushed to the bathroom for a shower, and realized that my sister had beaten me there. I heard the radio playing, but banged on the door anyway and told her to hurry it up. She did, but left me no hot water. I hadn’t even been awake for five minutes and already I was in a bad mood. No time for breakfast, no time for television, and to top it off, I left my lunch bag at home.

I sat in traffic for 40 minutes and punched in to work late. But hey, I finally made it. I could settle down a little bit and regain my composure (and lower my blood pressure). I slipped into the kitchen for a much needed cup of tea and found an empty pot…no hot water. I begrudgingly made a new pot and made my way to my desk, which was a huge mess. The weekend made me temporarily forget all of the loose ends I needed to tie up, but all the papers and my jam-packed inbox immediately brought me back. So much for settling down with a cup of hot tea.

I noticed an envelope addressed to me amongst all of the papers. It almost got lost in the mess, but the gold writing caught my attention. I opened up the envelope and pulled out the business anniversary card inside. It was a beautiful card! The gold foil shimmered on the big stars that adorned the front. In cursive, it read “Happy Anniversary,” and I realized that it was from my company. I couldn’t believe it…had it already been a year? Did they really remember my start date? Does the President of the company actually take time to sign his employees’ business anniversary cards by hand? What a great way to keep up employee morale. I know it brought a smile to my face…the first smile all morning! It is very reassuring to me that I work for a company that actually notices and appreciates my contributions. It makes me want to do more and show them how much their appreciation means to me. One little greeting card goes a long way, and this particular anniversary card was the ray of sunshine I needed to brighten up my horrible day.