Saturday, January 21, 2012

Smells Like Team Spirit

"Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success."
  - Unknown

Let's just start by saying that I know the song is called "Smells Like TEEN Spirit".


And if for some reason, you thought the name of this post was a typo, I'm sorry, it was not.

This post is about TEAM spirit.

TEAM work.

But...if you are disappointed, stay tuned. I will deliver. I quite dig Nirvana. (But I like Chris Cornell and Soundgarden better.)

Digressing...

Back to our regular, scheduled blog post!

Teamwork is a big thing in my house.

My house.

My home and my family would not function without it.

No one can do anything successfully in a vacuum, and when you are a member of a busy household like mine, this is especially true!

I'm thinkin' living in there would suck! Ha! Get it? Vacuum? Suck?
I know. That sucked.
Ha!

What gave me the idea to write about teamwork you may ask?

No? You were not asking? Well peeps, I'm gonna tell ya anyways!

I recently came across a YouTube video. Someone shared it on Facebook and I watched it and I was amazed! It was AWESOME! I then proceeded to share it, and then after that it kept popping up all over the place. It was obviously going waaaaaaaay viral, and when you watch it - and you HAVE to watch it - you will see why.

Bet this band is glad they did!

I actually woke up this morning to this song on the radio. I was happy because not only is the way they put this song together amazing, but I really dig the tune.

Apparently this band is from Burlington (don't quote me on this - but this is what I heard!) - which is a small city in Ontario, Canada - not too far outside of Toronto. I know....even cooler! Holla...CANADA!

EH!!!!

...not to be confused with these guys. Another great team, by the way!
And. Again. I. Digress.

And...before I go on, here is the video. The band is called Walk Off The Earth.

I'll wait for you while you watch. Go!


Wicked, right!?!??

I especially like to sound of the dude in the middle. He reminds me of Peter Gabriel who I love. I also love the progression of the song. As first it seems like only a few of them are doing the majority of the work but then as the song moves on, everyone starts to contribute more in different ways.

TEAMWORK!

Coolio!

Also Coolio. I actually like this song too.



Which brings me back to talking about the importance of working as a team.

My marriage would not work without a great deal of teamwork. Of course, this has become more and more relevant as we have added little boys to our brood - and it has taken a lot of trial and error to figure this out. We are still figuring it out, but we certainly realize at this point that if we don't work as a team - both as parents and as partners - our relationship will be doomed.

J.Lo. Not exactly the poster-child for teamwork in marriage. Or marriage for that matter.

As many of you know, two of my three boys are hockey players. My baby will probably follow in their skate grooves. Sometimes I think it is too much and too expensive and la la la...but one thing I really like about hockey - or any organized team sport (with good coaching) - is that it really teaches kids about what it means to be a member of a team.

My two hockey players Julian and Noah when they were a bit younger.


My husband and I both agree that this is a very important thing to instill in our children.


We have noticed that some parents don't seem to think attending practices is that important. Now I am not really talking about the parents of the kids that play on my boys' current hockey teams - but they have played organized sports (hockey and soccer) for several years and this kind of drove us nutty.

Warning: This blog post contains nuts.

The thing is, if you are part of a team, then you have made a commitment. You have made a promise to be a member of that team - be it a marriage, a family, a sports team, a band, a play cast...whatever. And that team is counting on you. Counting on you to be there. Counting on you to show up. Counting on you to be ready to play whatever your role is on that team.


Now how do you think the song you watched above would have worked if one or more of the five team (or band, in this case) members did not show up to play this song? Maybe they could have scrambled to figure things out and make it work somehow. Shit happens. Teams make do without members all the time.

But would it have worked as well? Would it have been as awesome? Would it have had the seamless flow that it obviously has with all of the members there, both feet in, commitment there, all giving 100% of their effort?

I'm thinking no.

Oops!

We are lucky that our boys LOVE hockey and hence love to go to practice. It has never been an issue. Even at 7:00am. It has sometimes been an issue for US - but again, as the parents of these young players, we are part of the team as well. We have also made a commitment to their teams. And therefore, we get our butts up, pour the coffee and get to the rink.

Eh! That's not me! But it could be!

Now, I am not saying we - or anyone else - are or should be - perfect. Lord knows I don't preach perfection. That is Martha's job and I will leave that to her.

Martha, how the frick do you keep popping up on my blog? Oh...yeah. I guess that's my fault.
I guess nobody's perfect MARTHA!

I'm just making the point that commitment is an important thing. It is not something to be taken lightly. And if we teach our children the importance of commitment and teamwork early enough - both through being examples and by encouraging them to keep their own commitments - they will learn something that will hopefully stick with them for a lifetime.

My husband and son Noah (dressed as a policeman at a cottage - more on that in another post!), working together to catch a fish.

Borrowing a phrase from Henry Ford, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

And that is a commitment I plan to keep.

(And I bet you Nirvana fans thought I forgot about you! Now what kind of team player would I be if I did that!?!?? Here you go!)



Smiles,

Lora


1 comment:

  1. Your blog is awesome Lora! You are so creative and you have a way of making me think and laugh every time! I am a big fan! And this video is great. A nice tie-in with the subject of teamwork. Kudos! F. Smithers

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