In the summer of 2019, I was three months into a new job. My house had endured major construction that resulted in equally major water damage. We were about to go live in a hotel until just before Christmas.

Amidst all of this, I finished my graduate program. The program was fully online, so I didn’t even attend a graduation ceremony. Instead, I took public transit in the rain to go pick up my diploma, and carried it home in a plastic bag.

Yay.

Well, Kim and Frank, my managers, not only noticed and congratulated me on my graduation, they got me a card, a gift, and a little office party with cake.

I felt seen. In the midst of my stress, I felt like my team recognized the accomplishment and celebrated it with me.

Fast forward a little while, and my company was moving out of the space in our office building, in the midst of a pandemic. My colleague, Dan, was going into the office to pick up what he had left there when we all abruptly started working from home at the start of the pandemic. He kindly reached out to ask if he could grab anything for me.

Yes, please — that card.

I’d hung it at my desk, its sparkly “YAY!” a cheery reminder that I was among people who cared about each other.

But we weren’t all going back to the office just yet – merely leaving the old space. It would be at least another year before we returned.

Finally, in 2023, Dan met up with me in the office to say hello and give me the card he’d rescued for me.

He and I are on different teams now, Kim and Frank have moved on, but that sparkly “YAY!” still reminds me that so many people around me are going through something, whether a source of stress or a reason for celebrating. And that we can all reach out to look after each other.

Thanks Kim, Frank, Dan, and everyone from our team.

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Originally posted 30 September 2023 on Medium.