Daily Archives: April 16, 2014

In my opinion, there are a lot of jobs in this world where you only get feedback if you’ve screwed something up. You never hear about all the things you’ve done well.

I think mail carriers fall into this category. They can deliver hundreds of letters, bills, catalogs, magazines, and packages in pristine condition, and no one ever thinks to say thanks. But let one magazine arrive with a torn cover or one piece of the neighbor’s mail find its way into the wrong box, and suddenly the USPS complaint line lights up with a fury. Gosh, that’s got to be horrible for workplace morale–I bet reprimanded carriers drive their routes fuming and seething. Not that legitimate concerns shouldn’t be voiced, but honestly, is a torn magazine cover really worth a formal complaint? Do you really want to antagonize the person who is delivering your biweekly paychecks?

I happen to have an awesome mail carrier, so this morning, a random Wednesday in April, I let him know how much the hubby and I appreciate his hard work with a note and a blueberry muffin in the mailbox. I followed that up with a formal compliment via the USPS website. I don’t know if praise filters down through the system to individual employees (I probably should have gone to the local post office instead), but I wanted to be sure someone higher up knew what a great job he was doing. Everyone deserves a pat on the back once in a while, don’t you think?

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In an attempt to overwrite all the negative feelings I have about April I have made a pledge to complete 26 random acts of kindness this month. Reporting on these acts is the theme of my participation in this year’s April A to Z Challenge. If what you read here inspires you to commit your own RAoKs this month, please share what you’ve done in the comments. Together, we can rewrite April’s legacy!

If you’d like to check out how some other bloggers are responding to the A to Z Challenge, click here. Beware, there are 2083 participants at the time of this posting…I accept no responsibility for the hours you are likely to lose once you start browsing! 🙂