The Staff Party
This morning was our annual staff holiday party. Everyone brings a bunch of great food, some of us contribute to local charities, and we just visit and have a great time. Oh, and I always write a holiday story incorporating every staff person, and as much as possible, some distinct aspect of their job or personality, or both. In past years I've done a version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, where our maintenance guy is awakened in the middle of the night, and asked to come down to the library to help get Santa and his reindeer off the roof and patch the hole they made when they crashed landed. Of course, every staff member is called in to action, using their particular skills, in order to get Santa back on his way, thus saving Christmas. And it all rhymed. One year it was a take-off on The Grinch - again in rhyme a la Dr. Seuss. Last year I did a version of A Christmas Carol. One of our youngest staff members, Leah, filled the role of Tiny Tim. She was called "Little Leah" - a name that stuck for several weeks. This year, the theme was It's a Wonderful Life. Leah again played a pivotal role, acting as a sort of Charlie the angel-in-training. Actually, it was more along the lines of the Chrismukkah episode of The O.C., in which Ryan and Taylor are knocked unconscious, and awaken in an alternate world where they have to figure out what they need to learn in order to return to the normal world. That was sort of the theme in my story. It was fun. I had two people going to jail, one for embezzlement, one for sexual assault (all trumped up, of course), people working as waitresses and receptionists, all sorts of crazy things, all because one person thought his job didn't matter, so he had to be shown what the world would be like if he didn't work here (ergo the prison sentences and other bad stuff). But people missed the rhyming, so I'm doing a New Year story for the staff, with rhyming.
The food - we had chorizo quiche (YUM!), bacon and cheese quiche, bagels, brownies, cheeses, salami, all sorts of wonderful, fattening, salty stuff. And then I had a doctor's appointment, during which I noticed my water-retaining ankles, just about the time my blood pressure reading came back on the high side. Wow, if there were ever a case to be made for not consuming salt, the way I looked at the doctor's office would be it! Thankfully, I know what the cause of my puffiness was, and the doc was very understanding. This doc, by the way, is the one who delivered Youngest Son. We hadn't seen one another in quite a while - I have been going to a nurse practitioner for my annual exams for several years - so we spent a little time catching up. He is truly one of the greatest doctors of all time. He's such a nice, caring man, and he loves his job, especially the catching babies part. He has a way of making you feel as though he has nowhere else to be but in that room with you, when really, he has an office full of patients to see. He manages to even be on time for his appointments, despite the time he spends with you. He's pretty special. When I lamented my out of shape condition he remarked "Gina, you have an excellent record of keeping yourself in great shape. You'll get back there. This is a tough, transitional time. Don't be so hard on yourself." Wow, what a guy! He got me to agree to get back to exercising regularly and drinking plenty of water after the first of the year. That's doable. So, I'm fine, just going through the things a woman of my age can expect to go through, all the parts are where they belong and operating properly, albeit a little erratically (also normal at my age), so that's always good to hear. He even said I looked very youthful for my 51 years. I told you this guy was good!
