A Little Whine on Blue Monday

Today is Blue Monday. It is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. People are dealing with their holiday credit card statements, living in a cold Canadian climate with no end to winter and generally feeling blah. Maybe it comes from hearing that the 100 highest paid Canadian CEOs made the same amount of money by 2:20 PM on Jan. 3 (the first working day of the year) as the average Canadian worker does in a year.

Here are a couple of extra reasons for this Executive Director to feel blue: (bear with me while I whine for a bit)

• it is budget development season. The time of year where you work hard for 3 months on applications for funding. IF you are successful you get exactly 9 months before you need to start again.
• it is difficult for our clients to find jobs. It is disaappointing to hear how they applied at many jobs and didn't get any positive responses.
• the hypocrisy of some funders. For the fourth year in a row we have a status quo budget from one of our funders. No extra money for salaries or operating costs while that funder replaces furniture and enxures that all salaries increase every year. How do you meet standards and provide better service with no increase in resources?
• some of our clients move from crisis to crisis. Just when you think things are better for them, they come back in the same place they started.

Thanks for bearing with me. I feel much better. Maybe that is the purpose of Blue Monday. Wallow in self pity for a while and then come out better for it. As my son says, it is better to be a pessimist since you won't be disappointed.

There are also many reasons to look forward positively:

• over 400 individuals and groups contributed to the work of the Open Door in 2010.
• several of our clients have found jobs!
• our funders are still interested in supporting our work.
• a 'yes' answer to a funding proposal is a great feeling
• people are interested in volunteering and working at the Open Door

I hope that your Blue Monday reenergizes you and helps you look forward positively.