Monday Morning Parking Lot

Monday Morning Parking Lot
By John R. Greenwood

I place my pickup in park and take a long breath. The weekend has ended and the new work week has begun. I have many work weeks in my past, about 2000 of them, forty years worth. I embraced every one the same way; with the work ethic my father and grandfather instilled in me. Whether it was raking fall leaves for a neighbor or washing windows during summer vacations, they taught me to take pride in the job I was given. They emphasized honesty and integrity while doing it. They assured me that work was more than a paycheck, it was also putting your best foot forward. Today as I took a moment to reflect on the scene above I realized how important their advice was. Imagine approaching the end of your career and not having given it your all? I still have many years of work left in me. Work has defined a large portion of my life. I find that as rewarding as any Hall-of-Fame acknowledgement. Having the knowledge that no employer ever worried for one minute whether or not I was going to show up for work, tastes pretty good to me. All the money in the world can't buy personal fulfillment. There are still many Monday morning parking lot moments for me to absorb, but for some reason today's seemed particularly engaging. Maybe it was the way the floodlights illuminated the fresh snow . Maybe it was my heart telling me to enjoy these Mondays while I can. Either way, tomorrow is Tuesday and I will be there on time, with my sleeves rolled up.