P is for Practice A Random Act of Kindness

Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness-both the ones you have received and the ones you have given-you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter.
-- Dawna Markova

My friend Lisa's morning had not been going very smoothly.  She had pushed snooze button one too many times and had to rush through her morning routine to get out the door.  Road construction had caused the flow of traffic to trickle.  To make matters worse, she had forgotten to program her coffee maker for her compulsory cup of caffeine.  With the Dunkin' Donuts conveniently located close to the office, it was the logical stop.  She pulled into the drive thru with only one car ahead of her, and as she waited with her windows up, she began voicing her frustrations about the person in front of her. "Come on!  I'm late enough already!  What could you possibly be ordering that it is taking this long?  For the love of goodness gracious let's move already!"  For what seemed to her like an hour's wait, she finally ordered her coffee and rounded the corner to the pick up window.  When she got closer and saw the transaction taking place in front of her she yelled,  "Oh my, you're paying with a credit card? Really?  Can you do anything else to make me later for work than I already am?"  

Thank goodness her windows were up because when she moved ahead and went to pay for her much needed, fully caffeinated coffee, the cashier told her that the guy ahead of her had already paid for it.    

Wow.  OK?   Talk about an attitude adjustment.  All of a sudden the negative angst that had been building inside Lisa all morning had vanished.  That random act of kindness gave her pause.  Her mood elevated.  But then she felt a little pang of guilt for her impatience.  A nanosecond later she decided that one good deed deserves another. Lisa handed the cashier $5.00 and told him to pay for the next customer's coffee then keep the change.

Lisa pulled out of DD with an extraordinary feeling of happiness and came into the office with an infectious exuberance for life.  As she recounted her morning for the office staff, my thoughts spiraled.  I couldn't help but thinking how that one little random act of kindness did so much to change Lisa's horrible morning; how kindness is an abstract something that we just can't keep.  I thought about how great is to do something nice for people.  Then I thought about all of the home bound in our community; how they are not out and about to receive these wonderful kindnesses from strangers.  

My stream of consciousness led to appreciating what we do at Superior Home Health Care, sister company of Superior Health, Inc.  Superior Home Health Care serves the non medical needs of those recently home from the hospital or rehab; those with orthopedic injury and surgery recovery; those who suffered a recent stroke or heart attack; those undergoing chemotherapy; those affected by Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease; and those who need assistance with two or more activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, etc. Superior Home Health Care is staffed by experienced and professional caregivers who arrive at our clients with friendliness, courteousness, and especially kindness.  Our caring homemakers brighten the clients' day by keeping their houses in order, doing laundry, making beds, grocery shopping, preparing delicious, nutritious meals, even tending to grooming and personal hygiene needs.  I thought how our personal care services give our clients a boost much like Lisa got from being the recipient of someone's act of kindness. 

I snapped back to focus on a beaming Lisa who had the rest of us coworkers smiling and commenting on how great it feels to do something for others.  I noticed that as the day progressed, the positive energy maintained momentum; everyone seemed just a little friendlier, a little nicer, and yes a lot kinder.  All because some guy randomly paid for a stranger's coffee.  

It's Friday.  It's a happy day.  Let each of us practice a random act of kindness today.  After all we are not standing on this Earth in a single file line.  We are in a circle and what ever we pass around will eventually come back to us.  Here's to passing around a bit of kindness!

I'll close today's entry with a quote from Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People.  When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside.  It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.

O is for Opportunity

Ben Franklin once said, "In this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes."

Here's another certainty, as we age or fall victim to illness or accidents, we will at some time seek medical attention.  Despite the doom and gloom of our nation's economy, there are still opportunities out there for qualified people.  Superior Health, Inc. is currently looking for Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Registered Nurses.  Our patient census is growing almost exponentially and we need quality professionals to cover these new cases.  Whether you are looking for only a few hours a day or just one or two days a week, call us today so we can partner in healing those who are homebound. Dial 610-685-7351 and ask for Lynne.  We are looking forward to hearing from you!

N is for New Website!

According to the latest Facebook post by President Barak Obama, the government has launched its new site, HealthCare.gov, that provides unprecedented transparency into the health care marketplace and gives you more control over your health care as an informed and empowered consumer.  Please follow the link so that you too can better understand today's healthcare climate.  www.HealthCare.gov

M is for MindSet

"Nothing is either good or bad; our thinking makes it so."  ~William Shakespeare

When I logged onto Facebook this morning, I read a post from my ordinarily pleasant and positive friend that said, "Feeling BLAH today...I hope the weekend is better for me:("  My immediate reaction was sadness for my friend and I wanted to post a comment that would lift her spirits.  I typed,  "Happiness is only a MindSet away." My next thought was that today is Friday, my Blog day, and the letter for the day is M.  Aha.  M is for MindSet.  Then the floodgates opened as all sorts of ideas washed over me as I thought about thinking and how we with our own free will  can create our joys and sorrows by our perceptions.
Here is an example, albeit paradoxical, an example none-the-less.  Early in our dating relationship, the love of my life and I traveled to my home town.  As we neared Pottsville, I asked would he mind stopping by the cemetery of my old church.  He may have thought that an odd request, but being the ever polite man that he is, never would have commented so.  I had not been there is years and years, and why I wanted to stop, I still do not know.  We stopped and hopped out of his Jeep and inhaled deeply the smell of autumn.  With the crunch of leaves underfoot, we passed through the wrought iron gates and into my childhood.  You see, the St. Joe's Parish was the Italian Catholic Church.  Back in the early years of Pottsville, each of the ethnicities settled in their own section of town and thus founded their own parish.  The Germans had St. John's; the Irish had St. Pat's; and we Italians had St. Joe's.  As a matter of fact, when I was a little girl, marrying outside the church meant that someone from St. Joe's was marrying someone from St. John's.  The Italian community centered itself in the borough of Palo Alto, nestled at the foot of the glorious "Pally Mountain."  Pally, as it has come to be known, has only three streets, the longest of which stretches just over one mile.  Block after block I could find family members either by blood or by marriage as well as family friends.  So now as I walked past headstone after headstone,  I read the name and relayed a memory.  There was Mr. Mirabella, who owned Angelucci's Sub Shop.  There was nothing like stopping there for subs and if I was lucky a tiny brown bag filled with penny candy.  Then there was Anna and Christy Joy, who started Christy Joy Catering in their garage on Cadbury Street.  My mom was best friends with their daughter Rita.  My mom remembers peeling potato after potato for Old Christy.  In fact that's where she met my dad.  Oh, and then we walked by Mr. and Mrs. Tassone's headstone. He owned Frankie's Smoke Shop, where I would buy gimp and braid for hours.  His wife Francis was my Nonnie's best friend.  Those two talked on the phone for hours on end.  My Nonnie had a party line, and I'm sure the other party would be mighty frustrated at times when they picked up their receiver only to hear them gabbing away.  I remember when my Pop Pop would answer the phone, then yell, "Mamie, Windy is on the phone again!"  Windy was short for wind bag, you see.  I got to see my Uncle Johnny, who grew his own grapes and made the best wine.  I always loved how at Aunt Angie and Uncle Johnny's everyone drank wine out of small juice glasses.  We passed my Uncle Foosie.  He had the best garden.  Oh and the big old pear tree in his back yard, how I couldn't wait until I could make a pouch with my shirt and collect!  I don't think I have enjoyed a pear like those in decades.  I revisited so many memories and even though some of those people met untimely deaths, I could focus on the impact their lives had on me.  My friend Mike Ferugio, who was in the South Tower on September 11, 2001, may have been the kindest soul to ever grace our planet.  There was my friend Chris Garrity who late one summer night died in a car accident less than a mile from home.  Chris always had a big smile with the cutest dimples ever.  Then I saw my Nonnie and Pop Pop, with whom I spent most of my early years while my mom and dad worked.  I thought about how fortunate I was to have known those people, to have loved and been loved by them.  My mindset was of happiness and of reliving a childhood populated by wonderful experiences provided by fantastic people, all of whom are together again in Heaven.  So the paradox of lightheartedness on a visit to a grave yard is the best example for my comment to my friend on Facebook.  Happiness is only a mindset away.  And as the Bard said, "Nothing is either good or bad; our thinking makes it so."  So today my dear friends focus your perceptions with rose colored glasses. After all, it is what it is...only until we spin it...

L is for Love

"Love is saying, 'I feel differently' instead of 'you're wrong.'"  - Anonymous

I encourage you to share your thoughts.

Love is...

K is for Karma

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours." - Wayne Dyer

I love this quote because it invites us to examine the way we internalize a situation.  Happy pondering!

J is for Job Fair!

We are excited to share with you the opportunity to meet and discuss employment or higher education opportunities with approximately 25 representatives from local employers and institutions of higher learning!

The Harrisburg Area Community College, Lebanon Campus and the Pennsylvania CareerLink, Lebanon County are jointly sponsoring a Spring Job Fair on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at the PA CareerLink, Lebanon County Office.  This job fair can provide an excellent opportunity to interface with potential employers or higher education representatives.

Additionally, there will be two workshops offered.  First,  Workplace Expectations: Mastering the "Soft Skills" will run from 11:000 AM - 12:00 Noon. Then an Unemployment Compensation Review will be presented from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM.

The PA CareerLink, Lebanon County is located at 243 Schneider Drive, Lebanon, PA 17046.

Representatives from Superior Health, Inc. will be there and we would love to meet you!  So mark your calendar for this coming Wednesday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  Here's to a great employment opportunity!