Frolicking ... not just for fun anymore? :)

Field Day was one of my favorite days growing up .. of elementary school, anyway. The place where I'd normally get in trouble for not sitting still or for talking when I wasn't supposed to would turn into an organized paradise of activity for a day. Silly competitive games like tug of war, water balloon battles, relay races, and blacktop art contests brought our class together. Those of us who typically only pretended to get along in front of the teacher, all seemed to be honestly working together for the common goal of class honor. Victory, was of greatest importance. Teamwork, the only way to achieve it.

Life as a grown up .... no field days. It's sad, really. Corporate America preaches team building, teamwork, efforts in your field toward a common goal ..... yet industry & office politics tend to thwart many sincere efforts toward that goal (by the way, the politics portion reminds me of high school, not elementary, but that's a different story for a different day). Does chronologically leaving our younger childhood days behind delete our ability to honestly put aside our differences and work together toward a common goal for even a day? Or, much like growing from elementary into high school, do the additional years and experiences make us less able to truly work within a team?

Maybe the lesson here is to Bring Back Field Day. Imagine what the office, the city, the world in general would be if for one day a year everyone thrown together in their respective work environments, wore old clothes & beat up sneakers & joined forces for victory against the office next door in a water balloon toss or a parking lot chalk art contest. No subterfuge, no gossiping about the person in the next cubicle ... just honest effort toward a common goal that's a silly positive one. Maybe its the silliness that makes the difference. Who knows. Okay, Corporate America, who's in?!

~The Girl In The Little Black Dress