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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

Every day we hear updates from our co-workers, friends and family. Some days are filled with compliments and good reports whereas other days are not as enjoyable. Lately I’ve noticed that on the more negative news days, I go home exhausted.

It’s the kind of tiredness that soaks through my entire being. I go home, and I barely have the energy to speak. I don’t want to talk through how my day went. Last night my husband laughed at a well-timed joke during the show we were watching. It was truly a funny moment, and I could hardly get the corners of my mouth to lift into a smile.

I’m aware that my environment affects my mood. I’ve gone to great lengths over the last 10 years to improve my surroundings where I was able. I’ve painted walls brighter colors and procured a fairly extensive collection of fun chachkies. If you’ve ever seen my office, you can attest to this.

My job is amazing. Helping people and this community truly fills my heart with joy. Knowing that I’ve made the world a little bit better — that’s the best reward for a job well done. I got teary eyed twice today as I was talking about the good work we are able to do here.

Unfortunately, every day does not feel like a blessing. Hearing about the financial hardships that many households are facing is eye opening. Although I’m able to help in a small way, I’m frustrated that I can’t do more. Learning about a child who needs to be removed from their home due to neglect … it makes me sick to my stomach.

There is so much sadness and negativity in the world and working in a nonprofit, sometimes you get a front row seat. Those are the days where I go home too tired to speak. Thankfully the joyful tears outweigh the quiet nights.

I attended a Q&A session about the upcoming April 9 vote. Learning in more detail about how the city has come to these decisions was insightful. I operate a larger building and am acutely aware of how expensive certain items are to repair and replace. I truly appreciated all of the research that was done before they brought this to a vote.

I think about my house. A few years ago we needed to do our roof. Previous to this we had repaired a few patches and even put in a couple more support beams in the attack to temporarily relieve some bowing. We had done everything we could to preserve the roof, however the rotting boards under the shingles required a complete overhaul. It doesn’t matter how well you take care of something, eventually there are bigger fixes that need to be done.

You’ll notice I didn’t tear down my house and build new when I needed to work on my roof. I also didn’t think about doing that when I had to buy a new hot water heater or refrigerator. My home is still solid — it just needed some repairs. I believe the same is true for the items that the city will be working on.

These improvements and updates will have a positive ripple effect for many years to come. This is our community and we actually have the ability to make it better, so of course I’m going to vote yes on April 9.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.