Work Friends

I've spent the last two Friday nights hanging out with friends I work with. Funny, three weeks ago, I don't know if I would have called them "friends."

I've been at my job nearly two years. During the first few months, I spent a lot of time observing what seemed to be a well-oiled machine. I mostly stuck with the "new" teachers because we all felt uncomfortable. I tried to stay under the radar, but discovered when this school year started, that I hadn't done a great job. After hearing many negative comments running through the ranks, I went into saftey mode, hiding in my room during lunch, and saying "no" to any requests for extra activities. I didn't want to be on any radar, good or bad. My plan worked, but not because of anything I did. Other people, the "new" guys have been making the same mistake as I did last year. Only so many people can be on radar at one time, so I have been able to disappear without changing much.

Anyway, last weekend I was able to play BUNCO with some of the ladies. They are great fun. Most are new moms, so I thought they only talked about their kids, but there's more to new moms that just kids! We laughed and ate and danced -- to practice for the lip sync.

The Lip Sync is a bi-annual tradition to raise money for scholarships for students at our school. The teachers get a little crazy and the kids pay money to watch their teachers act like them. I wasn't into it -- I make a big enough fool of myself in my classroom; I didn't figure students would pay money to see more of it! What a bonding experience though?! Getting silly, spending time. I learned so much about these girls -- met their kids, husbands, significant others. Teachers are real people! WOW!

So last night, it all went down. I laughed pretty hard. I did a parody of the Pussycat Dolls "Dont Cha"; there was also Beyonce with Sean Paul and Sonny with Cher. We were all tired, sweaty, and ready for a drink when the last song brought us all on stage, but we were smiling. At the pub aftershow party, I learned that one of the teachers has a single-brother-in-law she wants to hook me up with. (That's the second one this week -- I think I'm on a roll. Bring it!) Another teacher asked, "Aren't you glad you did it?" Yes, yes I am. I'd be sad I'd missed out on an important part of school culture if I hadn't. I'm learning how important it is to have fun with the people you work with. And how important it is for leadership. Someone who won't have fun with colleagues can't earn their respect.

Fun really IS important!

PS: We made the front page of the local newspaper!!