Thank You, Don

Most often you don’t realize how important the smallest things are….

I met Don around 1994. I’ll keep it brief, but I was working for a company that managed many apartments and he was the bug exterminator. It just made sense that I would use Don when I built my first house. After that, he was part of our process. I hated the idea of bugs in my house—I still do.

Since that time, Don has technically been my exterminator. It has been almost 30 years. Until just recently, I didn’t realize how much more he was. The reason? He no longer comes…I hope he has retired, but this year we just didn’t hear from him. I have tried to get in touch to no avail. I hope somehow, he gets to see this.

Not to be too dramatic, but…just yesterday I saw a spider crawling across the floor. I immediately went to call Don. It hit me so suddenly..it wasn’t an option. I want him to know he meant more.

Thank you, Don. Thank you for all you have done for me and my entire family over these last 30 years. Thank you for the conversations, the advice, encouragement, support and everything else. Thank you for “growing up with me.” You watched me get married, move three times, have two kids and be lucky enough to become a stepmom. You weren’t just “Don the bug man.” Thank you for driving almost 2 hours to take care of my grandmother’s house. Thank you for taking care of my mom’s and my sister’s homes, even though her dogs hated you. You came at the drop of the hat when I decided there were too many ants, spiders, or bees. As you know, this could be often. Just thank you.

To me, Don was not an exterminator. He was a necessity. He was a necessity that I took for granted. As I said, I hope he is doing well. I hate that I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye. Please don’t make the same mistake. Even the smallest contribution to your every day means something. Make an effort to say, “Thank you.”

For now,

Angela