Celebrating the season

Tonight I went to a holiday party hosted by one of my co-workers. It was a lovely gathering with good food and drink, laughter, and fun. As I drove home, I realized how very much I appreciate having this special time to socialize with the people I work with, day in and day out.

We work at a community college and this group of people are all administrators with a lot of responsibility. There is not enough time in the day to get the work done, so consequently when we are at work, we do minimal socializing. We spend a lot of time in meetings and working on priority lists and initiatives. It is go, go, go--all the time!

How refreshing, then, to spend a few hours just enjoying these fine people and their partners. As we gathered round the kitchen island and regaled each other with stories of the holiday season with our families, I was reminded that we are all the same in wanting to make meaningful memories with those we love. As we laughed our way through an ornament exchange (with the fun "stealing" rule), I learned that I have something in common with one of the women who also makes homemade ornaments. In the years we have worked together, it never occurred to me that she, too, might enjoy crafts.

The time, the place, the setting--and yes, the season--allowed us to shed our titles at the door and gather as friends enjoying an evening together. There were no deadlines or impossible demands to meet, but rather it was a chance to connect with each other in a personal and intimate way that does not happen in the workplace. Instead of a dean or director, I spent time with a mom, a storyteller, a husband in love with his wife, a gal with a wicked sense of humor, a man who has an incredible light display outside his house timed with music, a woman who loves her little girls to no end, a wife in love with her husband.

I hope that on Monday when I am back at my desk, the memories from this night will push through the deadlines and demands so that I can see them clearly and fully for who they are in the world, not just in the workplace.