Treats

I love treats, don’t you? Around my office there is always some event or reason to bring treats in; someone celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or a group observing a job well done, for example. I don’t have a big sweet tooth myself, but I do enjoy a good treat from time-to-time and in a happy happenstance while running some errands, I ran into someone that once worked in that same office and he gave me a treat I really enjoyed.

I was loading some supplies into my car for a project I was working on, when he pulled up next to me with his wife and son. Brian and I had worked together for a few years; I guess to be truthful, he technically worked for me, but we had such a respect for each other that it always felt, at least from my side of the equation that we worked more as peers. Fairly recently, Brian ended up taking another position outside our office, which had the obvious impact of nearly eliminating our time together. This parting was something both of us regretted but also acknowledged was part of life, families, and careers.

I was so pleased when he and his family stopped me in the parking lot and spent some time with me. We were able to share how things were going with both of us, just catching up. We were also able to simply and honestly share that we both missed our time together. Times during which our work relationship morphed into a true friendship. Times we shared every matter of topic from work to family, from death to really living.

I didn’t see the treat he left me until after we had parted ways, he and his family had headed into the store and I was in my car heading back home. During my short time of solitude in the car, I started to think about how Brian and I had been able to become such close friends so quickly.

What is the genesis when such a bond is built in such a relatively short time?

That’s when I saw the treat. Not wrapped in a napkin sitting on the seat next to me. Instead it was sitting deep inside me, wrapped by the respect we had for one another and the basic teaching that we’ve all heard many times. In this moment of realization I felt both blessed and a slight twinge of sadness. Blessed for the friendship and the lesson, and sad because I realized that the treat was so easy to give, but it is, for some reason, given much less often than it should be.

So while I instinctively know that sugary treats should only be consumed in small amounts, I sometimes need a reminder that they are always healthy when they come from the golden rule: “Treat others as you want to be treated. It may not build strong bones, but it sure makes for strong friendships.