“Excuse me,” said someone behind me.

I turned around. A young man who had been working quietly for hours had approached the reference desk.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say … you are so nice.“

He must have overheard me working with another patron. I smiled and thanked him. And kept smiling.

While I would like to say that the work is its own reward, it is not enough when so many other negative things detract from it. Compliments like this buoy me for days.