My company had our company picnic today and it was my first employer-sponsored event for quite a long time. I forgot how nice it is to see my peers with their families and watch everyone just enjoying themselves. Many of us managers did the grilling and serving of food to the employees, and it was a hoot to watch out “big kahuna” serving the biggest hot dogs I’ve ever seen while wearing a t-shirt and baseball cap, and then drawing numbers for the prizes and “high-fiving” the kids who won.

I have been facilitating some teambuilding with the management team for several months and the team was making strides in building trust and mastering conflict. As I sat at the picnic table, munching on my gigantic dog and swigging diet soda, I realized I was witnessing rapport before my eyes. Managers from various departments working together to make sure the garden burgers didn’t burn, employees introducing each other to their spouses and children. We all work in a children’s hospital and sometimes we are trapped in our ’silos’ while working hard to serve our patients and their families. And here, in the park, next to the swingset, those silos were gone and we were simply people. Good, hard-working people focused on a noble cause.

Tomorrow at work, we have five new hires joining us for orientation. I can’t wait to welcome them into this organization, where they may find their perfect job, just as I have.

So, how do you know when you’ve found the job that’s a perfect fit? How about the fact that the day zips by and before you know it, it’s time to go home. You find yourself immersed in your work and have to remind yourself to take a “bio break.” You smile on your commute in. You don’t experience “Sunday Night Dread.”

I’m lucky to be in a job where all of the above is true for me. However, it wasn’t always the case. I recently had the fortune to be laid off from a job I was only in for a few months, however it didn’t take me near that long to realize it was a bad fit. When you cry at your desk at least twice per week, that’s a bad sign, my friends. What made it so horrible for me? It was the wrong kind of work for my skills, it was an environment that didn’t align with my style…need I go on? So when the rumors of layoffs swirled and I was called into the HR office, I practically SKIPPED in the door. Yeah, you know when it’s not right.

Why am I writing to you about this, dear reader? Because fit is everything. It’s more than money - I have left a position where I was paid a ridiculously high salary because the work and the environment were not right for me. It’s about being true to yourself - your family - your customers. It’s about protecting and nurturing the essence of who you are and not compromising yourself.

You might wonder why I included that sassy little cartoon at the top of this post. That represents me in my perfect job. See the arch of the eyebrow and the curl in the smile? That is me, adding value and loving it. I have found my perfect fit. Have you?

So, my hubby and I just returned from a trip to So Cal where we attended my 30th <gulp> high school reunion. I had really been looking forward to it - my expectations were sky high. Yes, it was fun to see a few special folks. For the most part, however, I left feeling - well - sadly empty. There was a ballroom full of people I hadn’t truly known when we were together everyday in school, and 30 years later, nothing has changed. It got me thinking about how much time I spend cherishing times gone by.

As wonderful as the past may have been (or not), it is the past. Something to be honored and learned from, and revisited occasionally with a smile. Not something to be lived in while forsaking the present.

Now, you may say, “Duh, Shari!” But haven’t we all known someone who consistently yearns for a “do over?” Someone who is so caught up in what could have been that he or she is missing what is in the here and now? In fact, I will admit to having done this myself. Recently I found my thoughts turning to “the time when” and wishing I was still in that situation. You know what? It’s a HUGE waste of time and effort, and does nothing except make me feel bad. And, as I approach the mid-century milestone of my life, I ain’t got no time to waste feeling bad.

So, a pledge - to live in the moment, and plan for the future. To appreciate who I am now and look forward ways to be a better person. To love those who share my life and find ways to serve and honor them as they deserve. This I solemnly swear. How about you?