Christmas Eve 2003:
Where'd Everybody Go?
I have learned that the loneliest place on earth is not a Carol Mosely Brown for President rally. It's the work place on Christmas Eve! Nobody is here! I was excited to get a phone call just now but it was from a co-worker who is not here who called to say that another co-worker will not be here! Now all I have is my computer.
Actually, it's not so bad. The quietness gives me time to reflect on 2003. It's been a bad year for me. My motivation to work has been going downhill since November maybe October. I train parents of kids with autism to use Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) methods at home. A parent I had scheduled to come in for training just did not show up. That meant I had nothing to do for the month and it was too late to call another parent to come in on such short notice. I began to feel like what I do was not all that important. I didn't have time to watch It's A Wonderful Life and no ghosts of Christmas had time to visit me, so it was left up to Christy and Pauley to save me. Pauley and his parents, Christy and Jim, came in for training about a year ago.
Just today, when I was feeling sorry for myself, what should come in the mail but a Christmas picture of Pauley and an audio tape. I popped the audio tape in the machine and sat back to read Christy's letter that explained what I was listening to. The tape was a recording of Pauley reading the following (verbatim):
Pauley: "The angel said to them (I want Pauley's chip)."
Mom: "No, Pauley, the angel did not say 'I want Pauley's chip,' read it."
Pauley: "Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10 and 11."
Hey! It's gonna be a great year! Thanks, Pauley, you may have just saved another worker from being absent another Christmas Eve!
Don't worry if you never get thanks for all you do for your kids or someone else's kids. The thanks will come through the words they speak, the things they do, the things they no longer do, or through some new skill they have learned with your help. Keep on trucking! And may God bless your Christmas 2003 and your New Year 2004!
~Gary~ (12-24-2003)