Yesterday we held a really nice event for one of our staff members who turned sixty this week. Our department regularly celebrates milestones, whether they be from age, birth, marriage, etc. We tend to all bring in some food, some of it home-made, some of it not-so and put it out on display at our department entrance.
This opportunity to celebrate with each other is incredibly important. We all want to feel good about the benchmarks that others have hit, and at the same time, we want to feel celebrated as well.
And, celebrations don’t necessarily have to be big or drawn out. Simply bringing in food, congratulating a person, writing a card, are all that are needed.
The other great thing about celebrations is that it encourages conversation and dialogue. In some places, education can be an isolated profession. Celebrations allow all of us to come out of our classrooms, leave our offices, and engage in conversation, hopefully some of it not about work.
Earlier this week a colleague talked about how while we always want to focus on the end goal, and keep true to vision and mission, we also have to make sure that we take the time to engage in conversation around topics that are separate from the work at hand.
We need to do this if for no other reason than to celebrate our lives as colleagues and friends.
Because we won’t be successful professionally if we don’t feel connected personally.