Bring Your Wounds to Work Week

Monday Morning Pep Talk

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I know this because when I had a prescription filled last week, the bottle had a pink cap. It is a good cause with fantastic marketing, so I put a dollar in the pink bucket at the card table volunteers had set up by the pharmacy window. At home, there was an e-mail. It was an appeal from the daughter of a dear friend to sponsor a child for National Bully Prevention Month. Of course, it is difficult to ignore the plight of kids, so I pledged my support and sent a donation.  Secretly I was hoping some kid wouldn’t get teased like I did about my light blue plastic-framed “cat” glasses in third grade. (I’m still somewhat sensitive about that).

There are a lot of birthdays for me to remember in October, so I was busy sending Facebook “shout outs” and making birthday calls when National Boss Day arrived October 16. That’s kind of a sticky one. If I sent a card would it look like pandering and sucking up? Probably. If I ignored it would it look even worse? Probably. I opted for a text message to the boss and donated a can of food in the barrel outside the grocery store for World Food Day also October 16.

As the weekend rolled around there was one more birthday to acknowledge which required a log into Facebook where I learned Saturday was World Statistics Day. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, “Happy World Statistics Day!” “Congratulations on not being a Statistic?” My statistician FB friend posted this announcement in hopes of some reaction, so I “Liked” it.

Between now and Halloween there is: International Stuttering Awareness Day today and United Nations Day Wednesday. The entire week is Red Ribbon Week.

 I have added my own commemoration: Bring Your Wounds to Work Week. I figured people do it anyway. Every workplace is filled with "your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...sorry that’s the inscription on the Statute of Liberty. Seriously, every workplace is filled with people that have a back story and drama that makes them who they are---micromanagers, insecure, a bit of a jerk, chronically late, the ethically challenged, not very trusting, lacking confidence, or overwhelmed. Just when you think...I’ve had enough; remember--we only have to work with them. Since most of us missed, "Do Something Nice Day" on October 5—Old Navy sent tweets about it, so obviously DSND is the real deal. This week, let's belatedly have a little compassion for our co-workers. Who knows what they are coping with when they are not on the job.

We all have 168 hours, make it a great week!