Report Card Day!

Today was report card day for me on two fronts.  First, I went to the dentist and second, I had my performance review at work.

Before I go any further with this, let me just explain something about me (this is where my friend, Missy, is gong to laugh).  When I was in school...all the way through school...I was all about getting good grades.  I was a shy kid, so nobody noticed me.  I stunk at sports so nobody noticed me. I was an average musician, so nobody noticed me.  But when it came to my grades, I made it happen.  Not that I'm brilliant or anything, I just worked really, really hard at getting good grades because that's where I found an identity.

Well, today, I realized that I'm still kinda into "good grades," even if it's only from the dentist's office. You see, all my life, I've had to listen to hygienists scrape away at the plaque build-up on my teeth while they quickly swoosh away the blood that flows freely from my injured gums.  It's embarassing and upsetting seeing as how I'm a faithful flosser/brusher.  It's not like I ignore dental hygiene, it's just that my mouth is a breeding place for plaque apparently. 

But during the past few years, I've really taken this problem seriously.  A couple of years ago I went out and bought an electric toothbrush when the hygienist suggested it could help.  Last year I started using those little brushes they make for braces, to massage and work my gums so they wouldn't bleed.  I mean, I'm putting in the time! 

So, when I showed up today for my dental appointment and discovered that I had a new hygienist, I wondered what new gadget she was going to recommend.  But to my surprise and absolute disbelief, she did her little gum test thing and then told me that she wished everyone's mouth was as good as mine.  What?  Did I hear her correctly?  When I confessed that I struggle with plaque, she told me that I was doing a great job!  And when the dentist came in, she gave a glowing report about my mouth to him.  I couldn't believe it!  I floated out of that office with healthy gums, shiny teeth and a giant "A" on my mental dental report card!

Then, I headed to the office.  Today was PERFORMANCE EVALUATION DAY.  It wasn't a surprise or anything.  My boss and I have been working on it for several weeks and it was on our calendars to meet at 11:30 this morning.  But still, this is a new boss.  You may remember that about six months ago I shared that my boss had been laid off and our work group had been taken over by another group.  So the past months have not been easy, but I have worked hard to develop a good working relationship with my new boss and to move forward.

There really weren't any surprises in my review, since I had basically written it myself, and my boss had simply put it into the official format.  But in a couple of places, she had added her own observations and comments, and they were positive.  That made me feel really good, because I work hard to be a good employee and this has been a really, really difficult year.  For one thing, she said I've shown "tenacity."  Tenacity!  I like that.  No one has ever said that I have tenacity before. No one.  And the rest of her comments were very complimentary as well.

When I walked out of her office I felt appreciated and like we had a better understanding of each other.  It hasn't been easy due to our situation, so it was very positive.  It kind of felt like I had just gotten straight A's!