I realize that I have the choice to add laugh lines or stress lines to my face as I grow older. I choose laugh lines!
Last Friday, my Heald College employer hosted a holiday celebration and open house for hundreds of attendees: students, staff, faculty, family, and friends. It was an absolutely delightful three hours. The staff did an incredible job planning a social event filled with Christmas caroling, visits with Santa, craft stations, a delicious dessert bar, fascinating tricks by a magician, and short educational workshops.
As the evening progressed, several of the staff and faculty were invited to play musical chairs. I quickly found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time and was asked to participate. Of course, I said, “Yes!” and quickly tried to recall from prior decades how this game was played.
As the chairs were being arranged in a large circle with volunteers starting to come forward to play, I quickly thought to myself “I’m way too old for this! I hope at 5’10” I don’t come crashing to the ground while colliding with another colleague to sit down in a chair. Are the people standing around and watching us video recording this?”
After surviving several rounds of this game without injury, I realized I was not too old to be goofy. I chose laugh lines!
During the week and weekends, my cell phone is rarely quiet between incoming email messages, texts, and phone calls. Gotta love technology! Over the weekend, one of the executives I support texted me a photo of him and his wife baking desserts for an upcoming work holiday celebration. There wasn’t just one mixer in their kitchen photo, there were three mixers in the photo. Who owns THREE KitchenAid mixers and has them all going simultaneously? I’ve got to enter this couple into one of the cooking reality shows! They mean business when they enter their kitchen. Ha! I’m still waiting to get married so I can add my first KitchenAid mixer to the registry list. I love receiving photos that make me giggle.
I don’t know about you, but laughter makes me feel better. Laughter helps me to better manage a crazy to-do list. It brings people together and is FREE! I love my work friends who make me laugh: Lisa, Brian, Mindy, Stacia, Amanda, Shelly, and many others.
Let’s remember we don’t have to be 100 percent serious at work all of the time. It’s healthy to laugh and have fun in the workplace. Being playful is important and a benefit to our overall good health.