by Beatrice on January 1, 2012
I have been going to a lot of school events this holiday season for my job. I have heard the most beautiful songs and seen parents smiling so hard their faces looked like they would snap off. The principal that went to the band concert, probably because he had to go, was smiling just watching the kids set up the stage for the larger band. He looked so proud that they were working together efficiently. It was great to see these students doing the things they are good at and best of all love. One gal couldn’t even articulate how proud she was of her show choir. When asked what her favorite part of the concert was she said, “Ahhhhh – everything!” She was yelling it and laughing. The best part of all of this was the tiny people in the audience that just talked through the concerts/plays. One kid saw Santa (a 3rd grader in a red sweatshirt and a Santa hat) and went nuts. He kept yelling, ” Santa!” It was so great that that it didn’t matter it was a 3rd grader and not some old dude like all the pictures. The best part about all of this was everything together – working together, laughing together, sitting together.
It is so important that the time is taken to just sit back and enjoy the holiday season as busy as it may be. The benefits of watching someone do something they are good at and being able to cheer when they have completed the task it good for the heart.
Jeffs note: Usually the best things in life cost next to nothing. It’s a lesson I often forget.
by Beatrice on December 26, 2011
It isn’t a new idea – the ugly sweater function.
Most of the time these ugly sweaters come out for a party that involves booze. We recently used the ugly sweater to bring working relationships together. We are divided into pods at my work and as much as we are encouraged to get outside our pod and socialize we don’t. It is very important to become a tight nit team within the pod so most energy is spent on the pod in which we work. My pod decided to throw out a healthy challenge to the other pods a few weeks ago to encourage more interaction. We gave every one two weeks to prepare for an ugly sweater competition. The sweaters would be judged individually and as a pod. The winners would receive only respect and gloating rights. This seemed more inspirational than any candy, drink, or a vacation we could have given away.
It started with a shout out – the date for the competition was assigned and the pleasant smack talking began. Mr. D was called out for his already ugly sweaters ( he dresses really well so it was funny). People started to try and confuse other teams by describing sweaters that weren’t really in existnce. This started to happen as people passes one another in the hallway. E-mails started to spring up that had a lot of “HAHAHs” and “Just wait and see!” At lunch, we laughed so hard in our pod trying to think of things we could do to enhance our sweaters.
When the day finally came, I was devastated by the competition. One man dressed up in shorts, wild socks, a holiday sweater, hat, and had a stuffed tree he carried around all day. Some had added Christmas lights to their swetaers and some just wrapped their arms in tinsel.
It was the first time this year that people seemed to really let go and get into something fun. I heard cheering for outfits as people passed and everyone would send me to someone else’s desk to see a “cool” sweater. That day felt great. We needed to bond and have fun and it worked. It made our pod stronger because the day of the competition we were plotting next year’s sweater plan. We didn’t win! We paled in comparison to the other pods. It was all in good fun though.We had spent more time talking to other people that it was all worth it.
The best part of the day was when we all took a group pictures. People were hugging others in closer so we could all fit. It was good to know that we all wanted to be there and we all cared enough to participate in something so silly.
A little healthy competition and good fun was all we needed to get the ball rolling on new friendships. It took away the stress of the empty space where you might not know what to talk about.
