What Goes Unrecognized

On Thursday morning, I was driving the kids to daycare.  My son said to me: "Mom, don't you think you need to see us more often?"  My heart broke; I felt my face get red and my throat get dry.  I wasn't about to let my kids' desires go unrecognized. So I took a few hours on Friday to spend time with them.  We played with reptiles, ate donuts, and bought a Batman piñata.

On Friday night, a local band played my restaurant.  Their soundcheck was great, and I made a point of telling them. I wasn't about to let their talent go unrecognized. The musicians were so grateful that I had taken the time to listen, and their music brought joy to a lot of people that night.

On Saturday afternoon, my restaurant participated in Bite Nite in downtown Rockford.  I've never been a part of a food competition before, and I didn't care about winning. I was proud of the delicious, eco-friendly food that we prepared.  Later in the evening, we ended up winning an award; the judges weren't about to let our food go unrecognized.  We spent the rest of the night with an extra spring in our step.

Reader, of course none of us should NEED recognition.  But that doesn't mean it isn't nice to get it.  It's so important to notice the little cues from the people (and animals) that could use a little extra attention.  When we recognize another thing for their accomplishments, their pain, their joy, their struggles--it generates empathy, fosters a spirit of awareness and responsibility, and makes the world a lot smaller.  As we go through our week, let's not forget to give a bit of attention to the ones that could use it.  We could all use an extra spring in our step.

See you next Monday. -Em

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