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This Christmas, I Finally Slowed Down and Drank the Hot Cocoa
For many years, I’ve been too busy to savor the holiday.
Christmas was less than a week away, and my department was scrambling to prepare for our corporate shutdown. We were closing down for the holiday, beginning on Christmas Eve and returning two days after the New Year. Time off is a great perk for employees, but there’s always lots of work to complete before we all leave to begin the festivities.
Sensing everyone’s stress, our manager surprised us by reserving a large conference room for the afternoon and sending a short e-mail.
“Let’s have a few laughs and watch Elf while we enjoy hot cocoa and cookies! Bring your laptop if you want to hang out and work!”
I had planned to go, but I was so preoccupied with completing a few tasks that I was soon the only one from our department who had yet to make an appearance. It took three coworkers to drag me from my cubicle, telling me I was missing out on the “greatest store-bought cookies they had ever tasted.”
As I approached the conference room, I heard the laughter and immediately saw the festive smiles on everyone’s faces as they watched Will Ferrell. I grabbed a cookie and leaned against the wall. Surprisingly, the cookie tasted good even though I…
