IF IT’S TUESDAY, THE SUN IS SHINING

One of my duties as a director on the board at AHRC is to sign checks for amounts over $7,500. Every Tuesday morning, like clockwork, I drive to the main office, and a large folder or three or four is handed to me and I sign them. That is the ‘official’ reason for showing up.

It is a highlight in my week, a great way to start it off because of one other ‘unofficial’ reason. The office personnel there are all very hardworking and professional. But when I entered that building, a funny thing starts to happen. Their heads rise up from their very important work, and I get a warm and welcoming greeting. It starts with Alice at the reception desk, and continues down a long pathway to accounting.

As I do my signature ‘slide’ down the aisle, Joyce, and Fran sitting at their desk greet me with: “Hi” or “Good Morning!” and as I continue I come upon the desk of Kathy. Kathy recently married, her old high school sweetheart, and for a sweetheart herself, will brighten any day with her smile.

Then as I turn the corner, there sits one of the sweetest people there is. The Executive Director’s secretary, a lady who should be arrested and made into a model for the world to emulate, Lynn greets me, gets out of her chair and gives me a hug and a kiss. I don’t have to pay anything for them, even though I don’t deserve them.

Then finally, there is the lovely Mary Jo, who hands me the folders to sign, always cheerful, chatty and kind. Nice people all. But hold on, there is Michael, Bill, the guys in maintenance, the HR Director and the a whole staff of people, program directors, everybody that works there, all offering a pleasant greeting that makes my week. Then the “guys” as they say, the people that the agency serves: as they scoot around delivering inter-office mail, working in the sheltered workshop, or just traveling the halls and walkways of the office, print shop and or ceramics and basket room, all lending to make my week start off great.

I guess what it does for someone who worked in offices for many years, and now works alone, is make me feel like a part of someplace other than my little world of a studio/office.

As I leave the office, often I leave them roaring, laughing hard, sometimes I feel that someone will escort me out of the office telling me I make too much disruption occur!

To all of the wonderful staff at the agency: Thank you, I love you all!

http://www.ahrcsuffolk.org/