My dog broke my finger.
And it’s been an absolute pain in the butt.
Y’all remember Lucy, right? My four-legged ball and chain?
Well, a couple weeks ago, Lucy and I had a little “disagreement” about where she needed to be. She was being especially ornery, and when I reached down to direct her away from the trouble, my finger got caught at a bad angle and bent in the wrong direction.
And something snapped. And I haven’t been the same since.
I finally made it to urgent care, and they took some x-rays.
And sure enough, the thing’s broke.
So I’ve been wearing this ridiculously large splint for the last two weeks. And man, it is a pain.
Typing is cumbersome. I can’t pick things up. Taking out the garbage is a hassle. And I haven’t felt like hitting the gym – which makes me feel sad and depressed and fat.
And the most insulting thing of all is that, when I reach down to pick up Lucy’s poop, my splint gets in the way and crap gets everywhere.
This stupid little hairline fracture has been an absolute pain in my butt.
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And that’s what really chaps my biffy – the outsized impact of the whole experience.
I’m 6’2″ – a good 200 pounds – much bigger than a single digit on one of my ten fingers.
But I have been absolutely floored by this injury.
Well, that may be a little dramatic.
Let’s just say I’ve been disproportionately impacted.
And it makes me think of the way that the small things we do can have a big impact on our work.
- Not responding to a message.
- Not recalling a name.
- Not saying thanks.
And how those minor infractions [pun intended] can have a substantial impact on our work as fundraisers.
We are in the people business.
And people have feelings.
And they respond to the little things.
The smile. The gesture. The message.
And my tiny little injury is serving as a big reminder to me that the small things matter.
I’m reminding myself to pay attention.
To make sure that the big things I want to accomplish aren’t hamstrung by my neglect of the things that seem small.
