If You Can't Have Fun at Work, Stay Home!

I'm writing this from the Charlotte airport on a layover from Columbus back to LA and I must say it is the last place I thought I would find inspiration for a blog post. However, I love that inspiration doesn't schedule time to come into your life, but rather shows up in the most unexpected places, presses its nose against the window pane of your life like a puppy that wants to come inside, and then it's up to you whether you let it in or shut it out. In my case, this happened while I was taken a much-needed bathroom break while waiting for my next flight.

I won't bore you (or gross you out) with the details of my bathroom routine, but just as I was finishing up, I heard a voice from the outer part of the washroom sing "Welcome to the best bathroom in the world! I'm Valerie and you have no idea what awaits you inside!" Immediately, the skeptic in me thought this was a world-weary traveller that had finally cracked. However, my Input wouldn't let me leave without hearing more so I settled in and the show continued.

Valerie, who I now know is the bathroom attendant and not actually a crazy person, greeted each and every woman who walked into the restroom. She had a different song ready for each person from "You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine..." to contemporary hits such as a Taylor Swift snippet and I'm pretty sure she sampled a line or two from Kanye's new song. She offered us lotion, paper towels, mints, and most of all a little respite from the ongoing monotony of travel. It soon became clear that Valerie was not only entertaining to me, but to the other women in the bathroom as well. I heard a giggle come from one stall next to me and then an "Amen sister!" from the stall on the other side.

A traveller then asked Valerie how she had so much energy this early in the morning. What she said stopped me in my tracks. She said "well, if you can't have fun at work, just stay home!" If that is not a true statement, I don't know what is! Here was this woman who some could argue had one of the lowliest jobs in the airport. She was in charge of wiping down the sinks, taking out the trash, cleaning the mirror and sweeping the floor. Instead of resigning herself to mediocrity, she decided to make the most of this job and saw it as a way to interact and brighten the mood of thousands of people who walk through her doors.

I'm happy I'm writing about this now as I am literally between my old life in Ohio and my new life in California. It is so easy to complain about work or look to other places or fantasize about greener pastures, but to be honest, what's so bad about where I am now? I have amazing students, fantastic colleagues, do meaningful work, and live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I think this is especially important due to my impending transition out of RD life at LMU and on to something (God only knows what) in a new position next year. Sure, there are drawbacks to every job, but in Valerie's words, if you can't have fun at work, STAY HOME!