Several of my recent posts have featured song titles and this is another one. We all know Sister Sledge’s catchy “We Are Family” played at weddings and other gatherings and it seemed to fit what I wanted to write about today.
I also wanted to write about something fun and positive and non-medical. I’ve also been busy which is good since I have been able to do more and have also been sleeping better so I’ve been writing less but I’ll try to keep it up.
Over the weekend I went to a retirement party for my boss. I’ve worked with John for 14 years and he’s been an awesome boss, very caring and understanding and I’m really sad to see him leave but certainly wish him the best in his retirement.
I haven’t seen my coworkers since April and it was very nice to be able to talk with them and hang out in a non-work setting. It was also a family gathering: spouses and children were invited. Mine were at a cousin’s high school graduation party which was at the same time but having worked with many of my coworkers for years now,
it was good to catch up with spouses and see how big their kids have gotten.
The party made me realize how much I miss hanging out with my coworkers outside of work. This was obviously much easier before we had kids but we should do something every now and then outside of work to keep the closeness of our department, even if it’s without spouses and kids.
What is nice about including spouses and kids is the sense of family. We spend so much time at work and often talking about our families that to all spend time together is refreshing. With some of my younger coworkers, we spent time at weddings, bridal and baby showers and housewarming parties as we grew our families. This changed as we had kids and so did that closeness we once had.
While hard to organize with our busy schedules and lives, just having such a casual, social gathering with coworkers every now and then would be so worth it. I had such a great time talking with coworkers, mostly current ones but also a few former coworkers. We spent so much time over the years that we truly are family and that’s what the gathering felt like.
The athletic department is a unique one at a college in that we operate almost all hours of the day and have many night and weekend events (aka games). We have many coaches and deal with scheduling, travel, purchasing, grades, injuries, fitness, facilities and many other issues. We hear crazier stories than you can ever imagine but all work together as best as we can to help our student athletes have success.
I plan on returning to work soon, starting out on a remote basis as I adjust to the return and some fatigue I am still experiencing and since I can’t drive. Even starting remote, I look forward to that “return to normal” and once again being a part of the family I’ve been with for 14 years.
The party I went to over the weekend which included former coworkers showed that we are still family even if we have moved on in our careers or lives. And that’s one of the best parts about finding a job you enjoy. You not only gain in your career, but you gain a family. And I love my Mercer Athletics family.
#wearefamily #workfamily #coworkers #Mercerfamily