Wonderful Surprise

You're in my heart, you're on my mind, you pick me up at the lowest times in my life. Everything happens for a reason and now I see why; you're such a wonderful surprise. – Shawn Hlookoff

I love surprises. Anyone who says they don’t is lying. For example, when you have a fight with your significant other you expect flowers or some other grand gesture to know that they are sorry. But isn’t it so much better when those flowers and other gestures, big or small, come when they aren’t expected. When a small act of kindness is performed, for no other reason than to let someone know that they are important to you, it means so much more.

I have received two completely unexpected surprises this week and it has made a world of difference in my attitude and my desire to show gratitude to others that are important to me. Both happened while I was at work. I was focused on getting a report updated for my boss so that he could do a presentation. The pressure was high and I needed all distractions eliminated, so I thought... In my peripheral vision I saw someone enter the main office but didn’t bother to look up and greet them until they were at my desk. It took a few moments before I realized that it was a delivery of beautiful flowers from my husband. The arrangement was a mixture of carnations and roses in the most amazing colors of peach, orange and red. When I opened the card all that was written was “Surprise!” No reason, no agenda, just a kind gesture of love and appreciation. It made the rest of my day so much better and every night for the next week that I left work tired or frustrated I came home to this beautiful bouquet and knew that I was loved.

The second surprise came when my boss called me into his office and shut the door. This is usually not a good sign because it means that I am about to get a new, time consuming, project. However, he just looked me in the eye and told me what a wonderful job I was doing and how grateful he was to have me on the team. Then he handed me a bonus check. I have worked for the company for over two years and have never got any kind of bonus so this was a great thing for me. The timing couldn’t have been better and although he apologized that it wasn’t “a large amount” I still felt that I had won the lottery. It was very generous and the appreciation and gratitude that I felt from this simple exchange that was over in less than three minutes cannot be put into words.

So as much as I love to receive surprises, I have determined that I want to create these types of surprise situations for others that I come in contact with. That way I can brighten the world as much as other thoughtful individuals have done for me.