I am having a love affair with the garbage man.

OK, not really- it’s actually the recycling workers, and no love affair is involved- but I really do appreciate these guys and what they do for us each week.  I wrote this letter-to-the-editor two weeks ago, and it ended up in the Burlington Post:

This past Thursday morning, when the recycling truck and its two workers came by, the conversation went something like this:

• Him:  “Good morning!  Did you write that letter to the paper last week?”
• Me:  “Yes I did.  Did you see it?”
• Him:  “Yes, and I wanted you to know how much we appreciated that.  It really made our day”.

This interaction floored me.  One, because I didn’t actually expect that the recycling workers themselves would see the letter.  I wrote it to express my gratitude in the hopes that Halton Recycling would see that they’re doing a great job, and to remind people of the hard work these guys do on a daily basis.  And two, because they were able to figure out that it must’ve been me who wrote the letter makes me realize that they enjoy the weekly interaction with my children as much as we do.  We’ve made an impression on them, as they have on us.

By them acknowledging that I’d made their day, made my day!

What goes around comes around, doesn’t it?

*****

For those who cannot read my letter-to-the-editor from the picture above, here is what it says:

“I have been meaning to write for months.  I live in the Orchard, and I wanted to share my appreciation for the Halton recycling workers who come through our neighbourhood every Thursday morning.

They are usually at our house around 7:30am, and we are often eating breakfast at that time.  As soon as my 4.5 and 1.5 year-old kids hear the truck, they race to the front door.

We then stand on the front step and watch the truck make its way down our street.  Without fail, through rain, sleet, and snow, the two workers give us  a wave, a smile, and a friendly “Hi buddy” to my children.  Every.  Single.  Time.  Depending on the truck they are driving, they will sometimes stop in front of our house and use the lift arm to dump the recycling up into the top of the truck- quite a sight for two impressionable children to see!

I don’t think they know how much this simple act of kindness means to me, and to my kids.”