I have had a lot of comments from people telling me that they have enjoyed reading all of my updates and having some insight into my thoughts. Melanie made a comment that she thinks that a lot of what I write about her is in a negative light. I would like to point out that her nickname is “No Fun Mel” as she was always the “responsible adult”, but she can be super spontaneous which makes things fun. Her personality is to take care of everyone and make sure everything is going well. I think it is a common theme that runs throughout her family as her mother and grandmother were both very nurturing people who genuinely took joy in doing small things for the happiness of others.
1.) At work, each of my direct reports have unique skills. At the end of 2019 I received a promotion to a manager position, bringing on different responsibilities and a different set of expectations. There were a lot of information that I needed to know, and I leaned one one of the team members on how to get a lot of the information and to help translate the SAP codes and navigating through all of the different options. The issue is that you need to request access to things, but you need to know what you have to request access for. This person has a lot of experience and has always been extremely helpful. Prior to me becoming a manager, there was an assumption that a position was going to open up and this person adamantly told me that I had better apply. I have leaned on this person a lot over the course of the year for all of the financial requirements as they could help translate the information quickly or find the information. They are a fantastic worker with a very high output and incredible work ethic and an invaluable member of the team.
2.) Growing up me and my sister use to tease my brother the same way. In most families they would say that the sibling was adopted, but my sister and I would argue that we were adopted and not part of the family and related to my brother. My brother has a fantastic relationship with my kids where they call him constantly and talk video games or some random thing. They invite him over to play video games or to play games together online. He is always willing to hang out with them and will spend time grinding in games to help them out and make their gaming experience much better. It was always amusing to see them talking to someone and when you ask who, they say they are playing games with their uncle.
3.) Our neighbours are fantastic. It is such a close knit neighbourhood that people were always willing to help out. Whether it was shoveling the snow or mowing the lawn, they have been great. The neighbour right beside us has always helped out when I have not been around traveling or I was not feeling well. We use to take turns mowing each others lawn and we would help shovel each others driveway. Our kids play together frequently and get along really well. It is one thing that prevents us from considering moving, our fantastic neighbours all around us.