Workiversary

My favorite day at work is September 22: my workiversary.

I don't care if people at work celebrate my birthday (I know! I, of the birthday season, don't care if people at work celebrate my birthday!), but I love being feted on my anniversary, and this year was a big one: 15. My manager Slacked me a couple of days before and asked me to attend our regularly scheduled morning team meeting. (I don't normally attend the morning meeting. It's ... in the morning. And he knows this about me, so he also offered a lunchtime option—but I'm not that self-involved that I can't get up early one day, especially if I am going to be the center of attention. OK, that still sounds self-involved. Whatever.)

So I showed up at the meeting and I turned my camera on (which is another thing I don't usually do because: work-at-home hair and clothing), and I was greeted with my peeps at working, singing a song that had been written just for me:

The Patty Bunch (sung to the tune of the theme song to The Brady Bunch) 

It's the story
Of a lady Patty
Who was bringing up a very rowdy team
No one ever placed their files ... on the server
But she was never mean.

It's the story
Of a lady Patty
Who would make her carrot cake and edit, too
All the treats she'd bring each month ... for people's birthdays
Secure permissions, too.

’Til the one day when they had to work remotely
And they knew that it was much more than a hunch
That this crew had long ago become a family
That's the way we all became the Patty Bunch.

The Patty Bunch
The Patty Bunch
That's the way we became the Patty Bunch!

The Patty Bunch, serenading me. I'm the one wearing a leopard-print jacket (because when
I started, my company was called Leopard) with my glasses on my head (because
I can't see the computer with my glasses on my eyes) crying like a baby.

Later, when I was thanking my coworkers, I mentioned to one of them how being “a lady Patty” reminded me of Vic's “... and a lady” photo postings on Facebook. (For those who don't know, he would often post beautiful scenic pictures with me in them, and he would add a caption such as, “Delicate Arch ... and a lady.”) She said that was intentional. (So just let that soak in a minute, the level of knowledge it takes to use an obscure reference to make someone feel loved.)

It worked. I have never felt more loved at work—and I am ordinarily quite beloved. (You bring Rice Krispies treats and carrot cake to work every month, you'll be beloved, too. 😉)

It feels a bit prideful to post this, but I do love my workiversary, and as we've already established, I am self-involved. 🤣

But it also gives me an opportunity to say thank you to all my work peeps, present and past, for all the love and support you've given me through the years, particularly these last few months.

THANK. YOU. 💗