Grown-Up A+

Yay me!

Remember how when you were in grade school, you'd often come home with some sort of indication of how you'd done that day? Maybe you got 10 of 10 on your spelling test...maybe you got a certificate of recognition for helping a classmate...maybe your construction paper/cotton ball/glitter Santa Claus was one of the best of the holiday season.

After a day like that, the evidence of your kiddie accomplishment often ended up on the fridge...proudly displayed and held in place by a garish magnet from some summer trip or the local pizza place.

I had that kind of day today. The kind of day where I wish I could have brought home a record of my accomplishments--listed in bullets on a piece of loose-leaf paper with a big red A+ glowing at the top of the page--and put it on the fridge. I DID GOOD TODAY!

Unfortunately, the stuff I "did good" about isn't really anything I can share. I didn't ace a presentation or host a successful event. I didn't write a winning report or come up with a great idea to implement in the future. Mostly, I just listened really well and responded to a problem. I connected folks who needed to know about the situation. I dropped everything. I didn't over- or under-react. I used good judgement. I stayed late to take phone calls. I made sure people felt heard. I kept people informed. I know what needs to happen next.

All I did was exactly what any person should do at work. And I'm not envisioning kudos for doing what would normally be expected. But it was one of those things that even though I just basically did the right thing, it still feels like I really nailed it. You know?

It took a really long time to explain the situation to my parents and Jay. And the problem I was addressing was more captivating than the "and then I called so-and-so and we talked about thus-and-such" play-by-play I gave them to explain why I felt so proud of my actions.

But still. It was a good day. I wish someone would have sent home a progress report that I could have proudly posted on the fridge...complete with a smiley face and a gold star.

I guess when you're a grown-up, sometimes quiet pride has to be enough. Or a vaguely braggy and nonspecific blog post. Quiet pride and a blog post. Yeah. That's it.

I totally nailed it today. It was awesome.