Where To Begin?

Very first post, the pressure!  I've already given my background and the reason for this blog on the "About Me" and "About This Blog" pages, so where to start with the first post?  Ah, I know; I'll start with my first Customer Service award:

 

 I received this from a young man named Peter one morning recently.  He and his younger sister Helen and their parents are regulars at the library, and are the absolute perfect patrons.  They come regularly, perfectly behaved, check out all kinds of books, know how to use the catalog and Dewey decimal numbers, and attend programs (they are awesome to have at dance parties in particular).  I have gotten to know them fairly well after the last two years and have sometimes helped them locate materials that weren't were they were supposed to be or made book suggestions, or asked them about school.

 

On this morning, I had just come up from circulation and was happy to see that they had come in.  My supervisor told me Peter needed to see me, and I went over to him expecting to help him find a book or answer a question.  Instead, he presented me with this picture, saying that he had missed seeing me (evidently they had been in a few times when I wasn't working)!

 

I was so touched, I almost cried!  It was so sweet and unexpected.  The librarians and associates who do storytimes get cards and pictures every now and then from the kids, but rarely does anyone give the pages much thought.  And if you look closely, you'll see that those aren't just ordinary stickers, those are GOOGLY-EYE stickers, and you don't give googly-eye stickers to just anybody!

 

I will always treasure this, and anytime I feel unappreciated I'll look at it and remind myself that the patrons do appreciate what I do, and that is what is most important :)