Protecting
A bit of whimsy this time, inspired by a conversation in the office kitchen...
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It is precious beyond all measure, the last of its kind.
We would all lay down our very hearts’ blood to protect it, to keep it safe.
“Guard it with your life,” we say to one another, as we lay its care in the hands of the next.
We bathe it, stroking it tenderly, before passing it on, or laying it in its bed, where the camera in the corner of the ceiling serves in stead of human eyes.
It is irreplaceable, unique, deserving of all reverence and we only give it its due.
It was once part of a group, a team, but nobody has seen the other members in a long time. New colleagues have never seen them, and so they are reduced to the stuff of legend. Where they might be, on what adventures, performing what epic quests, can only be speculated by those left behind.
A simple thing, but it performs a service no human can live without.
And Tots rewards our constant attention and vigilance, our affection and care, scooping up sugar and coffee, or stirring a teabag until the brew is just the right colour.
Every workplace has a Tots – The Office Tea Spoon.
In some office kitchens, they might lie in their own compartment of the plastic cutlery organiser thingy (what are those called?); in others, they are just part of the general collection of random forks, knives and spoons that the workers brought from home and added to the general herd.
In the mythical time when there were many spoons in our workplace, we used them with abandon. A new set of six lay nestled together in the cutlery drawer, smug in their newness, comfortable in their companionship. Each spoon gleamed with newness, shone with the promise of cuppas to come – tea, coffee, hot chocolate; perhaps Bovril or Cup-a-Soup. We paid them little heed, simply using them, rinsing them under the tap, replacing them in their drawer. There were six after all; they would last forever.
But over time, the six new spoons became five because a tea maker took one back to their desk to scoop out the tea bag later, or because they use saccharine tablets rather than sugar and forgot to bring the box to the kitchen. Five became four, became three, became two…
An email went out instructing everyone to keep the last two spoons next to the kettle, perhaps with an addendum to search carefully for the missing four. The email produced a response and several colleagues did indeed make a search! The search was thorough and two briefly blossomed into ten as people found members of the previous set lurking, forgotten and abandoned, at the backs of drawers or under desks. There have even been occasions when more than that were rediscovered, since the office has been occupied for many years; members of three or four sets have been known to appear like long-lost friends suddenly discovered on Facebook.
But, due to our carelessness, just as suddenly, ten became one and a new Tots was born.
Tots is treated with great reverence, passed from one hand to the next with care. “It’s the last of its kind,” people say to one another, “take care of it. Guard it with your life!”
And another email goes out with instructions for the Care of Tots. Everyone who uses it must wash it thoroughly after use, because tea drinkers do not want to use a spoon with coffee grains still clinging to it. They must hand it physically to the next user, or leave it in the designated place – a hastily found saucer, or wodge of kitchen roll – so that everyone knows where it is. Under no circumstances, however dire, is it to be removed from the kitchen!
There may also be a comment, as strongly worded as the writer knows how, that they have now bought three new sets of tea spoons and will not be buying any more! Their readers roll their eyes – they know that the cost was fully reimbursed.
And Tots lies in its place, not so shiny as it once was, but still full of the promise of cuppas to come.