It's not a bad idea to focus on the little gems that life sometimes dishes up to you amongst the madness. Sometimes I get a bit bogged down with the whingeing, I know. I am guilty of that so very often, even though I try to balance it out with upbeat stuff.

Today I got a totally unsolicited email to the netball association account from someone from (presumably) a netball association to the south west of Sydney.

Hi. I was looking at your website. What a great way you promote your netball. I love how you show your girls playing in action and the positive way you enforce netball. I especially love the Bluebottles face of the week. Your committee and members obviously love netball.

Keep up the great work!!!!!

XXXX XXXXXX
Camden

I think the word she wanted was 'promote' rather than 'enforce', but I get what she means, and.. gee... that was nice! Out of the blue like that, and just when I was feeling pretty jaded with it all. OK, I still am weary of it, but it might get me through another few weeks! And it makes me feel like I am doing something right after all. When I offered to help, I knew I couldn't contribute netball expertise, but I thought I could do something about getting information 'out there'. Half our members don't seem to even have the internet, but it's quite startling to know that someone out of the area has looked at it and liked it. The website I do is by no means classy in terms of web design, but my approach has been to give it a friendly, community feel.

It got me thinking. Why is it that these days we are surprised by random praise, or 'lovely gestures'? I know I am. Sometimes the simplest gesture can leave even me a bit teary...

A few weeks ago our neighbour was pruning some of the trees that hang over from our side of the fence. We paid his young bloke to cut down some of them back in February, but he's not unreasonable about them because they act as a screen, providing privacy for both of us, and also, as I've joked with him, they get to see OUR gorgeous gum blossoms when they are in bloom (as they are drawn to the northerly sun - on his side) so therefore we can't see them from our yard. So when they were in bloom a few weeks ago, (and they were really, really prolific this year), C, the neighbour, decided to prune them because the tree was actually so weighed down by the multitude of gumnuts. And he handed to Marc, over the fence, a spray of the blossoms, and one of the nuts, so that I could at least get to enjoy them for a short while by putting them in a vase. Even though I'm not a 'cut flower' kind of person I was so touched by this simple thought and gesture. Gosh.. I was blinking away the tears!!

What unexpected gestures or simple thankyous have take you by surprise?

Thinking about that does make me wonder if I 'give' enough. I know I did take that lovely gynaecologist receptionist by surprise last time I was there by thanking her - telling her that I really appreciated how helpful she always was. She was taken aback - thinking she was only 'doing her job'. But I still maintain she brings something more unique than she realises to her job, and I intend to tell her again this Thursday.

Labels: introspection