One big, happy, dysfunctional family…

JohnR1972JohnR1972
in General

A co-worker of mine once described the organization we worked for at the time as, “One big, happy, dysfunctional family”. That quote was the perfect description of where we worked. I think of that quote from time to time as, at times, it reminds me of this community (and it sounds a lot nicer than thinking of this community as the “Island of Misfit Toys” 😂).

We can choose to focus on the “dysfunctional” part or on the “family” part. In the past I have been guilty of focusing on the former but I am now actively trying to focus on the latter.

With all that said, does anyone have any Thanksgiving plans with your CC family that you care to share?

Comments

  • [Deleted User]MaverickLegend (deleted user)

    Yeah, I’d like to share something and that is no workplace is a family. it’s a group of people gathered together for one purpose and that’s to make money. Cuddle comfort isn’t much different. You have two groups of people, one looking to cuddle for touch satisfaction and another group looking to make money off of it. Yeah you can call me Ebeneezer Scrooge, and bah humbug

  • TheFunCartelTheFunCartel

    I had a dysfunctional boss who used to call our office a family. He did not like it when I said this is a job not a family. But I was already looking for greener pastures. In many ways when a supervisor or CEO calls a workplace a family it is gaslighting and a means to guilt employees to stay or not protest too strongly.

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    @BoomerSpooner - That particular organization was the most unique work environment imaginable. We all needed to work together but NONE of us reported to each other so in theory, every one of us were equals (in theory).

    The co-worker who called us a “family” was definitely putting the emphasis on dysfunctional and rightfully so under the circumstances when he said it.

  • TheFunCartelTheFunCartel

    But with that being said, I would say a workplace is a community where it is in everyone’s best interest to set aside personal preferences and minor things that annoy you to obtain a common goal. But it is not a family in that I feel no need to have the back of the office asshole like I would my immediate family’s asshole. Comes back to the old saying—they may be an a-hole but it’s my a-hole.

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972
    edited November 2023

    @lonelytauros - While I understand where you are coming from, I still see parts of the CC community (especially the forum) as having extended family like characteristics from “grumpy uncles” to… well you get the idea without me saying something that might offend other members 😂

    Again, it is what we choose to focus on. Most of us have from time to time argued with and/or been comforted by well meaning words from other members.

    Edited to correct a typo.

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    I’ll go first. I don’t have any CC related plans for Thanksgiving but I have a call later today to discuss a possible cuddle related roadtrip in December or January.

  • TheFunCartelTheFunCartel

    @JohnR1972 I see what you are saying about extended family but I have seen words and actions of comfort from total strangers. I have offered that to someone in distress before. I do not think that constitutes an extended family as much as the commonality of humanity we all share. Choosing to acknowledge that commonality does move us closer to the realm of extended family.

    But I might be getting in the weeds here.

  • PeopleLikeUsPeopleLikeUs

    You mean Thanks-taking?

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972
    edited November 2023

    Speaking of grumpy uncles… 😂

    Edit:
    Every single day, every one of us has a decision to make about how we wish to view the world. We have many options. We could take the approach of “Pollyanna” / denial where we ignore or rationalize away every bad thing going on in the world as well as every bad thing that has happened in the history of the world. We can also deny / forget every bad thing ever done to us or that we (intentionally or unintentionally) have done to others. I do not recommend that approach.

    At the opposite end of the spectrum of how we view the world, we can choose to dwell / wallow on every negative thing that has happened to any person or group of people in the world or focus on every bad thing anyone has ever said or done to us. I do not recommend that approach either.

    My personal approach is to focus on the positive while being aware of the negative within my sphere of influence. For example, I am well aware of historical wrongs in the United States (and other countries) just as I am aware of wars raging today on other continents. I view those things as outside of my sphere of control or even my influence.

    What is within my sphere of control? Just last week I completed a refresher emergency first aid training course and I now regularly carry a small trauma kit (tourniquet, compression bandage, and chest seals) in a discrete ankle rig. My city has seen a significant increase in shootings and stabbing over the past couple of years and if I am ever in a place where that happens, I am now able to be the true “first responder” while waiting for professionals to arrive.

    My approach is to be prepared to act to help others but I don’t wake up every day thinking about mass casualty events. There is a middle ground between denying the past and ugliness in the world and living in the past and ugliness in the world.

    My goal every morning is to focus my efforts on making the world a better, sunnier, and safer place around me without becoming jaded by all the bad that has gone on and continues to go on around the world.

  • PeopleLikeUsPeopleLikeUs

    Yeah, grumpy over the single biggest holocaust in the history of man kind.

  • JoyfulHeartJoyfulHeart

    I work for a nonprofit, so the organization doesn't exist to make money. People work here for pay, but I, and many of my coworkers, are fundamentally motivated by something deeper.

    My workplace feels like home in the very best sense of the word, and I'm grateful because I know that is rare.

  • SunsetSnugglesSunsetSnuggles

    "Dysfunctional" is certainly correct for most workplaces. 😆

    I do not have any Thanksgiving plans with cuddle friends, because I will be staying at home with my boyfriend and my doggie. 🥰

    ~ Sunset Snuggles

    🦄 Enthusiast 🏞 Travel Fiend 🐘 Animal Lover

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    @SunsetSnuggles
    So you have plenty of cuddle plans but with actually family instead of “CC family” 👍

  • SunsetSnugglesSunsetSnuggles

    @JohnR1972 Fo' shizzle! 🤩

    ~ Sunset Snuggles

    🦄 Enthusiast 🏞 Travel Fiend 🐘 Animal Lover

  • JubalJubal

    "The Island of Misfit Toys" has a certain whimsical innocence to it that a dysfunctional family may not necessarily have.

    I want to be "the cowboy who rides an ostrich"!!

  • CuddlebudBruceCuddlebudBruce

    It's going to be an amazing Thanksgiving. A great friend who is an amazing cuddler is coming in town for several days. Later in the week we have another cuddler friend driving through to join us. It will be a Thanksgiving with turkey and dressing, potatoes, and oxytocin to spare!

  • CuddleHugs01234CuddleHugs01234

    Yep, I have cuddling scheduled. :)

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