A Mishap That Turned Into Comradery

I “pead” on my teammate.

(No, that’s not a typo. And yes, I know how to spell. 🙃)

Allow me to explain…

I was training a new teammate, and we were spending time getting to know one another better since we would be working on the same team once she was fully trained. Team culture is a big deal, so it only made sense to kick things off the right way.

After a mini rapport session, I exclaimed, “We’re two peas in a pod!” (i.e. “We have so much in common!” and “We’re a lot alike!”) I proceeded to open my tote of fidgets and pulled out one of my favorites, a pod of peas. (If you need a visual, Google or YouTube “peapod fidget toy.”)

I wanted to show my new friend how it worked, so I squeezed the pod together. Doing so would normally cause the adorable little peas – with tiny faces on them! – to peek out from the pod. It’s oddly satisfying.

I squeezed a little too hard, which caused the middle pea to break free from whatever it was connected to that had previously limited its range of motion. That pea shot out of its nesting place at an impressive speed, hit another teammate whose desk was right across from mine, and shot across the room. I exclaimed, “I just pead on you!” to my trainee before completely losing my mind laughing. I couldn’t articulate what had just happened because I was laughing so hard. I tried with multiple failed attempts.

We laughed until tears were streaming down our faces. 😂 (We could not form words for at least 2-3 minutes thereafter.) Our other teammate who had just become the victim of a pea attack continued working and simultaneously ignoring our shenanigans. I admire how well she succeeded! We lost some training time, but the bonding experience and culture deposit that was created by a mishap that turned into comradery will never be forgotten. Never.

…and I will likely never be asked to train a teammate again. For the record, that risk was well worth the reward. (For the concerned citizens, as of the moment I publish this post, I am still employed.)

☕️ Journal Java

• Are you more “down to business” or do you enjoy shenanigans that break up the workday?
• When is the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
• Why is that a moment or time in your life that you wish you could relive (or why not)?