Woke him up screaming two nights in a row

Poor Scott, it was his Spring Break last week, and he wanted to stay up late and sleep in until noon, and two nights in a row my screaming woke him up out of a dead sleep.

Normally I am not a screamer.  Not that kind, either.  ;-)  I am quiet and reserved just about all of the time.  Even nightmares don't set me to hollering.  I might be too scared to sleep without all of the lights on, but I rarely make any noise.

But last week.....well that was a different story.

The first night was totally Scott's fault.  HE was having the vivid dream, in which he was arguing with his brother, John.  To make a point about how serious he was, Scott pinched John's arm.  Only it wasn't John's arm.  It was me who got pinched.  Imagine you are blamelessly sleeping away, not hogging the covers, not stealing pillows, not taking up more than your share of the bed, when you are wakened up by your beloved viciously pinching you.  Yep, I woke up to the sound of my screaming (and a severe pain that ended up in a bruise).  Poor Scott was scared out of his mind from HIS deep sleep.  We laughed it off shakily and went back to sleep.

The next night I dreamed that I was in a bowling alley after hours (do not ask me why, I don't recall anymore, but as is always true in dreams, it made sense then).  Scott and the bowling alley owner were out in the parking lot discussing who knows what.  The bowling alley suddenly got dark as the security system kicked in.  Afraid that I would set off sirens I tried to hold still.  (see, quiet and unassuming)  But I heard the ominous sound of claws tick, tick, ticking across the floor.  I held my breath as they approached, and then I felt a large dog's breath on my face.  (I forgot to mention that for whatever reason, I was sitting on the floor)  I scrambled for my cell phone to turn on the flashlight, only to see a large Doberman Pinscher about to take a bite out of my face (he, too, was quiet and unassuming in his attempts to maul me!)  I grabbed his snout with both hands to keep his mouth closed, but he easily flicked my hands off of him and lunged for my face.  I tried to scream and nothing came out, so I inhaled deeply and let 'er rip.

Scared the holy bejezus out of Scott on that one.  Scared me, too.  He asked if I was okay, I apologized profusely, and we fell back to sleep.  With no more dreams and no more screams.  The next morning I explained my dream and we could not figure out what might have triggered such a dream.  We make terrible dream analysts, I guess.

Luckily, the next couple nights were scream-free.  Which is fortunate, since I think Scott would have suggested I sleep on the couch if I did THAT again!

Sweet dreams to you all!

Good job!

(Note:  The purpose of this blog is not to have my friends tell me how great I am, but to challenge all of us to look for the great people around us every day.)

My dad and mom always taught me to say "thank you" to people who provided me with assistance.  By their examples, I learned to truly appreciate it when someone went the extra mile for me, or spent the time to provide excellent service, or went above and beyond to help me.  My parents caused me to see and realize that while we all enjoy great customer service, we tolerate mediocre service, and when someone really truly provided service, they deserved to be noticed and appreciated. 

My dad, in particular, taught me that if someone was particularly good at his or her job, it wasn't sufficient to simply tell them thank you.  I recall several times when we had to wait for a frazzled manager to appear so that my dad could tell him or her that our waiter, or the clerk, or the front desk person gave excellent service and he wanted the manager to know that this employee was an ideal representative for that particular company.

In my job I help a lot of people.  I like what I do, and I really appreciate it when a taxpayer tells me that I really helped them, or I made a difficult situation seem possible to resolve, or that I was very kind and helpful.  I have to admit, it feels good to receive a compliment like those.  My goal is to provide excellent customer service, to give the IRS a better reputation, and to make the taxpayer feel respected - not stupid for asking a question.

But yesterday I received a copy of an email that my boss sent to the director of our whole branch.  Seems a taxpayer that I assisted called my manager and told her how much she appreciated my help.  My manager passed that little tidbit along and I received a letter from our big boss thanking me for my work.  I have to tell you, it felt pretty darned good!

And it made me realize that there are literally dozens of people with whom I come in contact every week who provide services to me.  Most of them are so-so at best, but every once in a while someone really makes a difference.  Sadly, I hadn't thought about thanking them and telling their bosses what a fantastic employee they have.  So my challenge to myself - and you! - is to find one person this week who really shone when they did their job, and then let their boss know.  Maybe it's the guy at Starbucks, the gal at the tire center, the driver of the bus, the clerk at the grocery store, the gas station attendant.  And yes, I know, sometimes the manager isn't there, so that means we actually may have to take the time to get a phone number or address and then remember to call or write or email.  But I have faith in us.  We're grown ups.

Because, after all, if we want to continue to receive good service, no - if we want to continue to receive excellent service, then we have to let these good folks know that they are appreciated, and that the time and effort they put into their jobs is noticed and appreciated.

And to those of you who read every silly word I write, thank you for making me feel like I make sense!