Friday, June 01, 2012

Lessons From the Edge

Joy is worth more than money.

We had a new entertainer come to Edgewood this week. He drove up all the way from Indiana, had car troubles on the way so he was late getting to us, and was therefore - obviously - rushed to get set up and start singing.
In spite of the wait, our residents absolutely loved him. Everyone had a great time and I heard many people tell him they hoped he would come back again. And I heard him say, "If they'll let me back in, I'll be here!"
Which was nice for him to say, but I thought perhaps he was just being polite.
See, my budget for entertainers is rather small, and I wasn't able to pay this man what he usually gets for his performances. So, when everyone had cleared out of the dining room after he was finished singing I approached him to talk about a possible future visit. I said, "How does this work for you with the fee? I know I wasn't able to pay your regular fee, and for you to drive all the way up here from Indiana, well, it hardly seems worth it."
Yeah, I'm a great sales person. Can you tell???
This man went on to say, ideally, it would be nice to have another performance scheduled in the area. BUT he had such a great time with us at Edgewood - everyone was so nice to him, and he enjoyed us so much - he would do it again. Even if he came for only us.

The sincerity in his voice and the joy in his eyes really blessed me. He is willing to come back even though my budget is so small because he loved his time at Edgewood.
Because joy is worth more than money.

Karen

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, how wonderful! I love the picture, you can tell the residents were having fun. It is so nice when we cross paths with people in this world that live their lives in love, kindness, joy etc. You can tell people who live this way, truly care about those around them. I agree, Joy is worth more than money.***chera

Leah Adams said...

What a precious thing for him to be willing to do. He is a gem for sure. I love these Edge posts!!! Have a great weekend.

Karen Hossink said...

Chera - Yes. It was a joy to meet Michael. And I love that people are still talking about how much they enjoyed having him at Edgewood. :-)

Leah - Agreed.
I'm glad you enjoy these posts. It is fun for me to write them - as I am continually watching for "lessons" throughout the week.