It was a summer day in 2008, a weekday. I was running a bit late for work and pulled into the parking garage, not noticing at first that all the lights in the garage were off. There was still enough sunlight streaming in to see as I drove. As I pulled into a spot on the 2nd floor, preparing to walk up the two flights of stairs to the private entrance from the 4th floor into my company’s office in the adjoining building, my cell phone rang. It was Cheri, a coworker in my department. She was calling to let me know that all of the power was off in the building and that they were all hanging out in the courtyard awaiting word on what to do. So I headed down the stairs to the courtyard instead.
It was warm and sunny in the courtyard, and there was an air of excitement as people from all the different offices stood in groups chattering about the unusual circumstance of the power. Our boss didn’t usually come in until later, and Cheri had already apprised her of the situation, so Cheri called an impromptu “breakfast meeting” across the street at Au Bon Pain so we could exchange cell phone numbers for future situations like this.
Once we finished off our breakfast sandwiches, chatting, and number exchange, we headed back to the office, only to find the power still out. The powers that be decided to close our office and send everyone home. Let me take a moment here to tell you a little bit about our department. At the time, we were a group of 8 women of various ages and family situations who were in charge or proofreading and formatting financial statements for an accounting firm. The four of us who were there immediately began discussing what we might do with our unexpected free day, when someone suggested we hang out together. It was then that the idea was born: a woman’s best workday ever.
We jumped into Erica’s Passat and headed out. The first stop: Marshalls for some shoe shopping. After unleashing ourselves on the shoe department, we headed back to the area near work, where there were plenty of restaurants and things to do. We slipped into the bar area at The Cheesecake Factory and ordered cosmos. The thrill of drinking during work hours was intoxicating. From there, we marched ourselves across the street for a matinee showing of Sex and the City: the Movie. We laughed, we cried, we danced in our seats.
When it was over, we giggled our way back to the parking garage. The power was back on, and we still had a few hours before the official end of the workday, but we were free to do as we pleased with the rest of our day. So we headed out on our own to use the last few hours for ourselves.
When we found out the office had been closed, we could have each gone out on our own to run errands, clean our houses, pay bills, or do whatever pressing things always seem are waiting to be done. But instead, we decided to spend the day with each other, and we now have a day we’ll always remember to smile about for years to come. Life is not just about the unexpected gifts we are given along the way, it’s about what we decide to do with them.
Originally posted for Examiner.com at http://www.examiner.com/article/the-best-workday-ever