Believe it or not, I’ve always been a corporate girl… meetings, structure, free coffee, the whole nine.  However, if you can’t tell by now, my alter ego is that of a barefoot artist painting the world with my ever-optimistic brush.  Anyway, while wearing my corporate hat, high on the free coffee, feeling great about all the structure in my life, I was off to another meeting… my very last, actually.  I entered the meeting with my boss and the HR Director… didn’t realize she’d been invited, but I guess that’s appropriate when you’re getting a promotion (yay me!)… Did I mention that I was high on all that free coffee from our no frills break room?  At any rate, I was unceremoniously let go… they mentioned something about the economy and a layoff, yada yada.  I cried in my car on the way home, not because the job was so grand, but because having someone show you the door after you’ve given so much feels rude and very personal.  Is there ever a nice way to let someone go?  Is it like ripping off a band-aid - the faster you do it, the less it will hurt?  I don’t think so.  Though the shock of it all would have still prompted a tear or two, “thank you for everything you’ve done” or “you can definitely count on us for a glowing letter of recommendation” would have been appropriate and appreciated (eventually).

We don’t put a lot of stock into “thank you” these days, at least not as much as we should.  I’ll be the first to admit, I have a really hard time getting out thank you notes in a timely manner after a big event.  You don’t realize how much “thank you” means to someone else, until – purposely or not someone makes you feel as if you and/or your kindness are not valued.  Let me clarify my point by stating that one should never go into a volunteer opportunity expecting to be rewarded.  However, appreciation is what makes you feel good in the end.  That appreciation sends the unmistaken signal that you’ve made a difference, whether big or small.  When there is no “thank you” or the expression of it is equivalent to that of gratitude for letting someone get ahead of you in traffic, it doesn’t feel good and you wonder… what happened?  Is it me?  Is it them?  Who knows?  One thing I do know is that I can only control my actions and hope that what I put into the universe, I’ll get in return.  Most of the time that rings true, and the times it doesn’t… maybe sending the thankless culprit(s) a copy of Nice to be Nice is the best way to handle it.  And yes, that was a very shameless plug for my book.  Ok, back to the point… When is the last time that someone made you feel appreciated, even if it was just a small gesture?  Now that you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy and appreciated, when was the last time you did the same for someone else?  Before you even say it, you’re quite welcome for the timely reminder!