Remember the Bigger Picture

Hard to remember the big picture when you are tired. . ..

Daffodils are the first flower of spring. They are the symbol of The American Cancer Society, the "Flower of Hope" especially to all those with cancer. The American Cancer Society has its Daffodil Days next week, Mar. 6 – 10th. You will be seeing daffodils everywhere next week; at least that’s what we at the Duluth ACS office are hoping. Many people have pre-ordered their flowers. If you didn’t pre-order, we did order a few extras to have for sale at the Holiday Center Mall (downtown), and the Super One stores in West Duluth and Hermantown (by the mall). The income coordinator that I support and I have been gearing up for this week for months. The Daffodil Program is one of my areas of work. In fact, it’s because of daffodils that I was hired 8 years ago. I had volunteered for the society during my at home time, raising the boys and not employed. The director, thought of me, when over the Christmas holiday, she returned to find that her part time support staff person had left a note on her desk saying she quit, without giving notice and in the middle of her daffodil promotion for pre-sales. I worked part time as a church secretary at the time, and she called and asked if I’d consider working for her in the afternoons, after my church job was finished each day. I accepted her offer, and immediately went to work on the daffodil program. That is how I came to work two jobs a day for almost 2 years. The Minnesota ACS merged with the states of Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to become the Midwest Division of The American Cancer Society. At that time, I had the opportunity to come on board full time.

Last year at this time, my years of experience helping with the Daffodil program came in handy when the staff person in charge of the program quit the second week of February. I was asked to step in and carry through with the program to make a success of Daffodil Days in the Duluth area, Superior area, and Carlton County. It was a challenge I gladly accepted, and it was a good feeling when all three areas were successful. I had the help of some wonderful volunteers in each area. ACS has always been known to be a volunteer driven organization. The last 5 – 10 years, volunteers are in much shorter supply because of so many employed women, and everyone’s busy life. Therefore, I want to commend everyone who helps us in any way, and know that every volunteer we have is appreciated by us at the local office. Our events, be it for fundraising, or early detection or support programs could not be possible without the help from volunteers in the community. This includes all of you that purchase daffodils, give memorials, donate and support our relays! I want to take the opportunity here to thank two women, Ginny and Lorraine, who have been coming into the office once a week and volunteering their time since November. They helped me each week with daffodil preparations. They have been packing Relay For Life Team Captain kits for me too. I also want to thank three of my friends, who graciously gave of their time to come in and help me get 1500 packets for daffodil promotions into the mail. Ginny, Lorraine, Rosemary, Lois and Sally, I could not have done it all without you. My life would have been even crazier without your support! Thank you!

Our new staff person, hired in early January, has never been through Daffodil Days, and so I have been assisting her a lot. The staff position that used to be in Hibbing is now in our Duluth office. She was also recently hired, and never been through Daffodil Days. She covers all of St. Louis County (except Duluth) and Itasca County and I support her too. Usually by the weekend before the Monday of Daffodil week, I am so very tired of the word daffodil that I dread the next week. This year is no exception. I have been working late, I’m tired and I am feeling overwhelmed and busy this winter with keeping up with daffodil and relay preparations. I am thankful though, that the burden is not all on me this year for these events. I believe that I’ve done my part to prepare for next week, and now it’s up to the volunteers from the community to help us with packing the flowers into plastic bags, help for delivery, pick up & logistics and for the community to come out and support us by purchasing the daffodils. This year, the UMD students that play athletics will be handling the deliveries, our new staff member thought of asking them. I’m excited to think about next year, because I believe she will come up with some fresh new ideas for Daffodil Days in 2007. I just hope she will be here next year at this time, and that our staff turnover we’ve been experiencing the last 3 years finally comes to an end. In the last 3 years, I’ve worked with 3 different coordinators during our event seasons. That’s been hard on me as the Administrative Support & to feel I'm the only "constant".

In previous years, when the truck rolls into town from Washington State, my energy is renewed after seeing the fresh daffodils, especially after the flowers open. They really are beautiful and they remind us that spring is coming. This being the weekend before, I am hoping for that renewed spirit on Monday! Another thing that helps is that smile that we see on faces when the flowers get delivered. Last week many people came into the office to pay for their orders, and they were all happy and in good moods, looking forward to the arrival of their "first flower of spring". Those were rewarding moments for me, amidst the piles of work in front of me.

I’m taking time this Saturday to rest and relax, so I will be on top of the game when I go to work on Monday. I am also taking time to meditate on the words a dear friend who knows I’ve been feeling tired and stressed, told me. She wants me to remember that through working with the daffodil program that I’m helping to raise funds to fight this terrible disease of cancer, which touches each and every one of us. She’s right, when I’m tired, I need to remember the “big picture” and remember why I work for this worthy organization.