Monday, June 28, 2010

You Would've Loved It

The company where Jana works was recently sold to another hospital organization and as the companies merge their billing offices perhaps only 1/3 of the current jobs will be available.  This leaves an office with a lot of anxiety clouding the air.

The original company, however, is trying to help it's outgoing employees as much as possible, including bringing in special services to help with resume writing, dealing with change and other helpful support.  They really are trying to ease the transition.

The other day Jana came bubbling home from work.  As she danced through the door she called, "I wish you could've been with me today!"

They had a woman come in from a consulting company to talk about resume's, how to write them, what companies are looking for and how to prepare for interviews.

"You would've loved the presenter.  She was so polished, had good stories to illustrate her points, was dynamic and really had the audience in her hands."

Jana's college degree is in speech communications and she is a very practiced public speaker.  Because she is good she is also very aware of other speakers.  Over the years I have also enjoyed the good fortune to speak in business presentations, seminars, staff training and keynotes as well as in church speaking opportunities.  Our conversations after presentations are centered around elements in our speeches that worked, audience response, the impact of stories, responses to questions and so forth.  I have learned so much from Jana over the years as she is free and yet kind with her feedback on my presentations and is attentive and appreciative with my observations for hers.

Jana also knows that I am always interested, as she is, in watching and listening to other speakers and learning from them.  When she burst through the door and said, "I wish you could've been with me today!", she was sharing an exciting and common interest – something she knew we'd both love: a presenter who knew how to move an audience.

"The whole time I was thinking, 'Oh, I wish Kevin could be here.  He'd love watching this woman'."

The loving thing was in her wanting to share an experience with me and thinking about me as she enjoyed it.  It's the idea of being thought about warmly when you're apart, and then not being able to come home fast enough to share it.  
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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.

Friday, June 4, 2010

"I Have So Much to Talk About"

Jana always seems to come home from work happy.  This is especially true on Friday.

I had sent her an email at work at 3:50pm, just ten minutes before she was to get off work.
Would you like to go to a movie with me at 7:00 tonight?

Mystery Date
When she walked in the door she declared,
YES!  I'd love to go out!
When we climbed into the van to head out for a cheap dinner before the movie she effused,
I have so much to talk about.  I can hardly wait!
We got to Chicago Connection and ordered our salad bar dinners and she almost exploded,
Can I tell you about my day?
She had a great day at work and was able to get resolutions on several large hospital insurance accounts that she has been dogging down for two and three months. This was a major victory and she was excited and proud about it, and rightfully so.

She then brought along some papers and announced,
These are the finalists in my hunt for an Oregon Coast rental house for our anniversary in October.  Read them and tell me what you think.
I read through them and commented on them as I did.  We then discussed the pros and cons and narrowed the choice down to two properties in Otter Bay, north of Newport.  She then jumped in,
Can I go ahead and make a decision?  
Jana loves to have something to look forward to.  I found last weekend as we listened to a set of tapes called "Light His Fire" that women in general always need something to look forward to; it makes the minor inconveniences and trials of daily life more bearable.  I have learned how important it is to her so I try to encourage it.  Besides, it's fun for me too.

One of the things I love about Jana is her optimism, joy and excitement for life ... especially for experiences ... and especially for experiences with me.  It's so fun to hear the excitement in her voice and see her eyes flash.  What a loving thing.  Am I smart or what in choosing Jana?
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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.