7 x 5 = Friend

Just ask anyone who knows me well how smart I am at math, and they'll tell you I suck at it. Truth be told, I pretty much always have been much, much, much less than gifted when it comes to the numbers side of things. While I sailed through most subjects with ease when I was in school ... from elementary school to college ... I always struggled with any math-related courses. Looking back, I think a big part of the reason I didn't like any of the classes that involved anything even remotely related to mathematics is because I had such a hard time understanding what possible benefit I could ever gain from learning geometry, algebra, calculus or statistics. Considering the extensiveness of my aversion to math, it's probably nothing short of a miracle that I'm able to count to 100 and balance my checkbook ... no, really ... I'm serious ... that's how much I don't like math.

As some of you know, several months ago I had to vacate my beloved spot at work and move upstairs to a cubicle in one of the far corners of the building. I keep hoping I'll eventually stop missing being downstairs ... that I'll forget about my old quote post ... that I won't long to tend the fire throughout the day ... that thinking about the conversations I had with people who wandered into the kitchen while I was eating a late lunch will no longer bring tears to my eyes. I know change is part of life ... both good change and not so good change alike. It wouldn't be healthy if there were never change in life ... it's through change that I learn ... it's through change that I grow ... it's through change that I expand my thinking and my horizons. My mind knows all those things about change are true ... my mind just needs to work harder on convincing my heart.

Part of the reason for my relocation at work was that as senior editor, I was moved to a newly created team within our agency ... a specialized team of employees who are responsible for ensuring that client projects are completed quickly and accurately. Along with my new team assignment came a new supervisor ... a gal who's been with the company longer than I have and who is without question the best production manager in the business. She has a way of motivating people to do things they can't seem to do on their own ... trust me, I know firsthand that she's got a gift when it comes to the fine art of persuasion. Like when she asked me to do her a "favor" the first week following my move to the upstairs floor ... a favor that had no personal benefit for her at all.

"Will you do me a favor?" she asked.

"I'll try," I answered weakly.

"If I text you every day for seven days, will you text me back with five things you are thankful for?" she inquired gently.

"I'll try," I answered, my voice quivering with emotion as tears filled my eyes.

I remember driving home after work that day ... I remember thinking, "She was probably just trying to cheer me up ... I'm sure she won't really do it." But she did ... she texted me every single day for the next seven days and asked me to text back five things I was thankful for. I'd be willing to bet you're thinking the same thing I did ... easy peasy, right? In the beginning, it was almost too easy ... the names of my kids and granddaughters easily took care of my reply to her first text and then the names of other family members took care of the next day's. But then it got more difficult, and by the time I reached the seventh day, my answers had required some deep thinking and soul searching. From socks and peanut butter to my three adopted kiddos and my life-saving head doctor ... from my bed and sunglasses to my medications and friends who invite me to join in their family fun times ... from ball caps and beer to Skype and my doggies ... I discovered I have so very much for which to be thankful.

Of all the things I learned from that seven-day texting experience, there are a couple that will stay with me forever. The most important one, of course, is that it made me see the precious people whom I take for granted every day ... it made me vow to appreciate and love them as they deserve to be. It made me understand that there are people who really do care ... people who take the time to help someone who's struggling ... people who really do what they say they will do. I never would have believed that such a small exercise could have ended up having such a profound effect on me ... but it did. So much so that I was even a little sad when the seven days were over.

So here's my challenge to you, friends ... look around at the people in your life ... your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers ... look around and see if one of them needs you to be their "five things you're thankful for" texting buddy. I guarantee you won't have to look very far ... we all need that kind of friend ... the kind of friend who taught me math isn't really so bad after all ... at least not this kind of math anyway ... the kind of math where 7 x 5 = friend.