Perspective

It comes and goes, I suppose.

Of course, as soon as I came home yesterday to see all the sweet comments you all had left on yesterday's post, I realized that I am much more blessed and less alone than I realized.

But I suppose, on some level, that that's how life works. One minute you're up, and one minute you're down. The roller coaster of life. Have I mentioned I have motion sickness?

Anyways, thank you all for your sweet comments yesterday. They meant the world.

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On a wee bit different note, do you all remember my charity? I've wrote a few posts about it in the past... but since I've graduated I should be done with all that, right?

Well, not so much. Yesterday I was cleaning out a closet when I saw a box that caused me to have a Level 10 Freak-Out. It was a box of "Thank You" postcards for said charity event. Which happened in April. And if you want me to guide you on the math there, that was 7 months ago.

So. Apparently I had a large chunk of Thank Yous that I forgot to mail. Approximately 920, in fact.

So I did what any idiot would do - I started stamping and labeling. Quickly.

And when I was finished, I looked up and was astonished - 920 postcards is a LOT of postcards. Each one of these postcards represented a person who donated money - from $5 to $500 - to help the kids at our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

That's a lot of love and generosity, people. I am overwhelmed.

But then I got to thinking - as I scanned through the lists - I didn't see any of the 40 people who donated in my name. So I ripped apart my spreadsheet and did a lot of hard-drive searching before I realized that this list of over 900 is incomplete.

So while I am kind of resigned to the fact that a lot of my donors will never know how grateful the organization is on my behalf.... I am in awe that there are probably 900 more donors out there somewhere. And even though I'm pissed that we've had some kind of excel malfunction... still - wow.

Perspective.

There are 920 people who are going to receive these postcards and be a little bit amazed at what a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls were able to accomplish.

And then I think about the 4 years I labored over this cause. The sleepless nights (thank GOD those are over!). The paper cuts (hey, that was just yesterday!). The dramas that erupted as tensions were high.

And then it hit me: in 4 years, I helped to raise a quarter of a million dollars. A quarter of a million dollars that wouldn't have been put into research and funding to help sick kids.

Wow.

Perspective.

And then I remember - I don't do this for plaques or fancy congratulations... I do this because of the families. The families who are suffering and the kids who are sick. For the kids that spend their holidays in hospital beds. For the kids who are finally healthy again and will never spend another holiday in the hospital.

And then it hits me: those families are grateful for me - and for all of the friends and fellow students who gave their time and talents for something greater than themselves.

Perspective.

It's amazing what 920 postcards can do to check that self-pitying attitude at the door.

I'm blessed.