There's nothing like a party

"and the Nori Award goes to.... Trampoline Design!" (enter whooping, hollering and general jubilation). Such was the scene EIGHT times last night at the Ad club Nori Awards in Albany. Suffice to say, the night was a total success, and not just because we won 8 of the 14 submissions we entered (ok I might be bragging a little here), but because I saw how clearly the joy of success felt by one member of Trampoline was felt by every other member at that table.

And then it hit me as I sat there, flanked on one side by my date, (otherwise known as my dad), and Boss Couple #1 Paula and Derek, the couple who since I met them about 7 years ago, have helped restore my faith in marriage with the notion that even after 10+ years and two children, two people can continue to genuinely enjoy one another's company, and that when she comes up in conversations, a man can talk about the beauty of his wife as if he is laying eyes on her for the first time; and on the other side, Boss Couple #2, Sean and Amanda, the uber cool, hilarious, and devoted to one another duo, whose wisdom and appreciation of all the small moments that make up life and family seems to come not from the mouths of two new parents, but instead from the seasoned voices of a 75 year old couple scootin' along with all their years of experience to draw from; and beyond them, the "On the same level as me, under Boss Couple #1 and Boss Couple #2" Couple, Pete and Jen. I don't know Jen very well yet, but since she can hang out with Pete all the time, she must possess some pretty fine qualities, and Pete, the kind of person with the sense of humor everyone wishes they had, a person who when you buy them some granola because you remembered they said they liked it, will come to you truly appreciative of the gesture, and then a while after they have eaten all the "chunks" ask you if you have yet to come up with a method for re-clumping the straggling pieces of oat because he can't finish it if it is un-clumped. Pete is also profoundly accomplished at talking "shit", fluffing his ego feathers when certain LAME members of the community get up in his grill, and taking with dignity the taunts of the Y chromosome member of Boss Couple #2 (Sean).

So after pondering all these people around me, I realized, we were something of a family; a group of people who shared in each other's happiness and success, struggles and sadness. I wonder if at the beginning, when Sean and Derek were first thinking of starting a business together, they realized this is what it would become. They have seen each other through the birth of two children, a home lost to fire, death of a beloved grandparent, a health scare with a parent, illness, milestone birthdays, and that is not to mention all that goes into running a small business with money matters, problem clients, new hires, dealing with Pete, landing big jobs, winning eight Noris in ONE night, being up for a best in show award. I bet a steak dinner with a side of vegetables that it's more than either of them bargained for.

Sitting there I felt called to let up a prayer of thanks, thanks that these people were in my life, that at a time when circumstances have left me sometimes feeling adrift, without a place to belong or a community to depend on, I was a part of this group, this family. Without my realizing it, the three men I worked with day in and day out, had become like big brothers to me, teasing me when appropriate... insert "Trina's gullible moment" here, supporting me and all my crazy endeavours, appreciating my efforts at the office, and each on separate occasions at the awards ceremony last night, making a point to tell me I looked great. What girl doesn't like that?

Success was measured in more than one way last night. What began as a ceremony celebrating Trampoline's incredible talent and hard work, became a moment in time when its people and what they created was suddenly paramount to any award they could have won.