Smiles everyone! Smiles!
For readers old enough to remember — they'll know that's an 80s TV show line welcoming people to Fantasy Island. For younger readers who watch current television offerings, they'll know the new version of that show is crap.
Anyway, back to those smiles — (Gosh, it's so easy to revert back to the pessimistic viewpionts when your day isn't filled with flowers .... but I'm getting ahead of myself).
I had my favourite work day of the year on Wednesday. Once every year for the last 20 years, it's the one day that tops all of them
Is it better than the annual Organizational Meeting of the Northern Lights Public Schools' board of trustees? Surprisingly, yes.
"Even with the excitement of finding out who will be appointed to the Support Staff Liaison Committee?" you might ask. "How can that be, Rob? How?"
Well, let me tell you — delivering flowers for Administrative Professionals Week can't be beat. I look forward to it every year.
It's a day spent delivering bright and beautiful flowers that convey the thanks of employers to their hard-working staff. Loading bouquet after bouquet of beautiful arrangements into my vehicle from the loading doors at Lac La Biche's Reminiscence Flowers and Gifts on Wednesday morning — and then spending a day delivering them to brilliant smiling faces — I mean, who doesn't like a day spent with flowers and smiles? Even a grizzled, old journalist can take a day off from fuming about taxes or over-spending or crime statistics, when spring flowers surround him.
My vehicle is loaded with bright, fresh colours of nature, happily sloshing in their colourful vases and ready to be hand-delivered to hard-working staff in community offices.
Every so often, I catch myself whistling as I drive around the community from one happy-delivery to the next. Who whistles anymore? I guess there are some — like people trying to avoid attention as they stand on the sidewalk outside a bank their posse is robbing as a police officer walks by, or those sending a signal at dawn to their hidden militia force to attack the kidnappers' secret camp on the outskirts of the jungle — but aside from those people ... who?
Me, that's who — Delivering those flowers, for me is a breath of fresh air. And, from the smiles and bright-eyed appreciation I had the pleasure of watching all day, the recipients feel the same. Again, who doesn't smile when their day is filled with flowers.
Sure, I bet florists have some tough choices to make in their day-to-day business with customer interactions, pricing, stock, orders and inventory. Tough choices like when to start smiling, when to break from a smile and relax into a permanent grin, if both of their eyes should twinkle as they smile or just one (while the other one winks), or whether they should put more emphasis on the "Thank" or the "You" as they serve another happy, smiling customer. Thank You Anna and Wade and staff at Reminiscence for you continued great work, and for putting that twinkle back into my eyes for a day.
Thanks to our community advertisers for taking part in this year's Administrative Professionals Week campaign and thanks to all those smiling faces.
Every year, delivering the bouquets feels more like a noble honour than a work thing. I'm carrying the colourful thanks of their employers, a bright spot in their day, a surprise that brings an extra smile.
"For me?" — asked with a wide-smiling grin — that was the most common reaction as I walked into an office or reception area. The questions asked with the equivalent of four written question marks at the end.
Yes. For you. And quite a bit for me too.
