Round 1

What a day. But what a glorious day.

It was a mix of business ... and charity. I had back to back to back calls, another project that needed attention and then the rest of the day I was collecting , sorting, tagging and packing up the many wonderful gifts that will hopefully brighten the holidays for four families and 16 senior citizens.

This is the second year that our company gave me an empty office to work from. And I have to say, it's a d*mn good thing. There is NO WAY all this stuff would fit in my office!

And this isn't even ALL of it! (And in neither of these shots can you see everything that was there today.) It just kept coming and coming and coming. And it doesn't include the several inches high stack of gift cards. Mind-boggling.

I truly work with some of the most wonderful people on the planet. Even one of my colleagues who has been mumbling "Humbug!" practically every time I've seen him the past few weeks thrust a twenty at me earlier this week. Another colleague, who bought a wallet, some nice snack trays and a significant grocery gift card apologized to me today. "Sorry I couldn't do as much this year." Seriously? She did more than her share!

And my assistant? Oh. She's been my master-wrapper and been single-handedly keeping track of a raffle we did in conjunction with donations. D, you are the greatest!

One of my young colleagues graciously helped me load up Pearl late in the afternoon to complete the first round of deliveries. Tomorrow, he says he'll be back to help me superpack Ladybird for a trip about 15 miles from home. And, I'll be getting things ready for two colleagues to deliver to another organization AND getting ready for yet another group to come and get their donations.

Rock freakin' on!

This really is a humbling experience for me every year. I get emotionally attached to the families and individuals we're trying to help. And then I'm gratified by how generous so many of my colleagues are. And by how quickly people will jump to help with the program in whatever ways I ask.

We recently heard the results of an employee survey and it highlighted the high percentage of employees who said they were proud to work there. It's a number that has stayed pretty consistent in recent years.

It's always gratifying to be surrounded by people who are the top of their game, many of them the best in the industry. To me, it's even more awe-inspiring to be amid a bunch of really good people (even some that I've had to cause wonder about from time to time).

I don't think anyone, could be prouder than I am right now.