The Monday Good News Lunch Club

FOClUID: 130861

By Mickey Bambrick
I worked in the computer department of a major hospital in Seattle for a few years. I was the first one hired in what would become a staff of forty-five. There were a lot of changes going on in healthcare and tensions were always a little high. The changes going on daily in the technology area were enough to push a sane person over the edge, but you combine the two and it seemed deadly.

We had a large cafeteria where most of our department gathered at lunchtime. It was supposed to be a "break" from work, but it turned out to be just a time where everyone unloaded and complained about all the stuff going on in the hospital. I, however, wanted to talk about anything but work, but it seemed no one else had a life. Except for my friend Nannette.

She was the only bright spot in the whole bunch, as she was hired as the recruiter to fill all the new positions. Even though she had her reasons to complain, she also had a life, so we got to talking. One day, she agreed with me that everyone else was just too depressing to be around, so we broke off from the group and sat at our own table. We just talked about good things and what was going "right." After lunch we both felt so much better, we decided we should do that again. Then the idea emerged, as we walked back to our office, that we should have a "Good-News Lunch Club," and if anyone from the department wanted to sit at our table, we would insist that they only talk about good news. We decided Mondays would be the best day, since everyone was always depressed to come back to work after the weekend.

The following Monday we sat at our table, and when a few people stopped by to ask if they could sit with us, we told them the rules. One walked away, and the other sat down. I acted as moderator and got them to say whatever it was that was good in their life. Nannette and I shared our good news and felt much better there than sitting with the others. The next day more people joined us, but we didn't say anything because it was Tuesday. By the following Monday we had several people come again to the table, then we laid down the law and told them about our "club." Most laughed and joined us anyway, but I enforced the rules and wouldn't allow any conversations that were negative. I went around the table and asked each one what good news they had to report. Some were silent, but most had something good to say.

Our table grew to be five or six tables all pushed together every Monday. We all ate silently while we went around the table and listened to each person report their "good news" for the week, and we all shared in their joy. We grew as a department and as a team. We welcomed all new employees and let them join our "Monday Good-News Lunch Club."

It's been a few years now since I left the hospital, but I can still hear the voice of one coworker as she got up from the table on a Tuesday after everyone was complaining about work. "Boy, I wish this was Monday," she said, "so I could hear some good news."

FOClUID: 130861

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