"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted", Aesop
No matter how stressful life gets or how overwhelming work and school can be, knowing that I have the most amazing coworkers, who are also my friends, is all that matters. I am looking forward to spending time with them outside of school tonight at a school fundraising event. Such a great way to end a very long week.
We are now a little more than half way through Lent. I give up dessert every year and usually right around this point is when I miss it. I am not even a big dessert eater, but having a little treat after dinner now and then is always nice. I have been satisfying my sweet tooth with a cup of tea after dinner each night instead.
It is not much of a secret anymore, but I have been leaving “Random Snacks of Kindness” in my coworkers mailboxes all throughout Lent as well. I am never there when they find the treats, but I am hoping that it brings a smile to their day when they find it. I know it brings one to mine.
It has been a long time since I have participated in a Five Minute Friday. I guess it is appropriate since today’s word is LONG.
FMF is a group of bloggers who write for five minutes flat on a given prompt — no over-thinking, editing, backtracking. Then we post our writing on our blogs and link up with other bloggers!
So, my 5 minutes starts NOW…
When I saw the word of the day, I decided that the first thing I’d do is find a quote that used the word LONG in it. I found this one immediately and loved it.
When you are lucky enough to work with people who you love, who make you laugh, make you smile every single day – it makes you realize just how special your job is. My coworkers are some of my best friends and I look forward to seeing them everyday. My Kindergarteners keeps me on my toes but also keep my laughing. I love teaching and can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I don’t think I’d feel complete if I didn’t have a class full of learners in front of me.
At the end of the day, I get to come home to my family. My loves. My boys, growing up faster than I am ready for them to! Another college visit with DJ tomorrow. I don’t know where the time is going. It flies by. When my boys were babies, everyone told me how quickly the time goes and now I understand what they meant!
Time is up.
Days like today make me realize just how much I value my friendships. I can’t even count how many times I have written about my coworkers and how they are some of my best friends. No matter how much I love summer break, the worst part about it is that I don’t get to see them everyday.
About a week ago, the teachers of “Team Kindergarten” made plans and had a potluck lunch today. I got there after camp and everyone had already arrived and seeing them all together after nearly a month was the highlight of my week! Everyone had kids to get home to, or commitments later in the day, so lunch didn’t last for more than two hours and despite the month apart, it was as if no time had passed at all. We all keep in touch and text each other, but it isn’t the same as being all together. Next week, a former coworker is getting married. We will all get together again for his wedding so less time will pass before seeing each other again and I can’t wait.
Many times I have heard that friends and work don’t mix. That is certainly not the case for us. Tonight, I read on Huff Post, that
Camaraderie is more than just having fun… It is also about creating a common sense of purpose and the mentality that we are in it together. Studies have shown that soldiers form strong bonds during missions in part because they believe in the purpose of the mission, rely on each other, and share the good and the bad as a team. In short, camaraderie promotes a group loyalty that results in a shared commitment to and discipline toward the work.
Camaraderie is defined as mutual trust among people who spend a lot of time together. THIS, sums up our relationship and I am so grateful for all of them.
Tonight was our annual faculty and staff holiday party, a night I look forward to! A night where my coworkers and I can get together and spend time with each other in a much more relaxed setting. There are a lot of us who work at our school and we are all in different stages of our lives. Some of them are just beginning their teaching career, while others, like me, have been teaching for quite some time, while others are close to retirement.
It is so much fun to mingle with each other and share a part of ourselves that we might not get a chance to reveal at work. I love teaching but working in a place where I am friends with my coworkers makes me enjoy my job even more. At work, although I see most of my coworkers daily, it is often a brief hello in the morning or a wave in the halls during the day. Finding the time to socialize with them outside of school gives us a chance to get to know each other better. School is my home away from home. I probably spend as many hours there as I do at home, so having close relationships with my coworkers seems natural.
Tonight was a great way to start off the holiday season. Thanks for hosting Suzanne! It was a really nice night!
We were not even gone for a total of thirty hours, but it was so nice to be away! Rebecca, Jessica and I had a great time in Atlantic City. We stayed up late, over ate, enjoyed meals with no interruptions or time constraints, sat out by the ocean, shopped at the outlets and even slept in this morning. A much needed, albeit short getaway.
It was a great stress break for all of us and there is nothing like hanging out and bonding with good friends. The down time was just what we all needed. We have already begun to plan the next get away, so get ready Martha, Stef, Ola and Christine because Team Kindergarten will definitely be doing this again!
I consider myself very fortunate because I get to work with some of my best friends. Granted, I would not know them if we did not work together because our paths would not have ever crossed, but fortunately, our paths did meet and I consider myself lucky to have met these amazing people who make me look forward to getting up and going to work each day. Our entire staff is warm, welcoming and wonderful to work with, but our Team Kindergarten is unique. I don’t know how they were able to put so many of us together and get us to all like each other as much as we do! Everyday, we meet before school to say hello and we eat lunch together daily during the school year. For me, it is one of my favorite parts of the day.
Despite our age differences, (we span four decades.) as coworkers, we have the advantage of familiarity. Kindergarten and school always gives us something to talk about. We compare stories, ideas and thoughts about school. We share ideas all of the time. None of us try to outdo the others and when we have a great idea, we pass it along. If something feels like it is not going well we go to each other for support. When I think about all of the hours that are spent at work, we probably spend as much time there, as we do at home with our families.
As teachers, no matter how much we love our job and our students, it is always nice to have a break in the summer. For me the worst part about summer, is not seeing my coworkers each day. In the summer, when we are off from school, we try to find time to get together. Tonight was one of those times. We met for dinner and there was non-stop chatter and laughter as we tried to catch up on what we had missed over the last few weeks. In a few weeks, a few of us will be off for an overnight trip together. We enjoy each others company, we know each others families, we take the time and make the effort to spend time with each other and despite crazy family commitments and schedules, we make it work and it is definitely worth it!
In just a few weeks, we will be back to school, getting our classrooms ready for our newest batch of students. Until then, we will try to find the time to grab a few moments together.
A Project for Kindness 