植木に水をあげていて、ふと、思いだしました…
はるか昔、駆け出しの翻訳をしていた頃、海外から精密機械の部品を輸入しているエンジニアリング企業に派遣された事がありました。小さな事務所でしたが、観葉植物がとてもきれいでした。が、時々、水が足りないのか、植木がぐったりていて, 毎朝、水をあげていたら、愛着がわくようになりました…. ある日、新たな仕事がきまり, ほとんどお話しをした事のなかった社長さんにご挨拶をしにいきました。社長さんが、”そうか〜　実は、フルタイムで働いてもらおうかと総務と話していたとこなんだ。カミさんが、植木に水をあげている君の事がお気に入りなんだよ〜”と、言ってくださり、残念そうにしてくださいました。植木が大好きな奥様とは植木やお花の交換の時に、時々、チラッとご挨拶しただけでした。とても、感激し、それ以来、新しい職場ではいつも植木/花に水をあげるようになりました(^^)

Watering plants often reminds me of the time I worked through a temp agency as a part-time translator for a small engineering firm. Like most offices of engineering companies, the office space was full of boring computers, research papers with many dry figures, etc., and looked, in general, quite depressing. Nevertheless, I was inspired by lively staff and nicely chosen plants/flowers displayed at the entrance area and in every corner of the office and really enjoyed working there. The plants, however, almost forgotten by super-busy staff, were often unwatered and looked sad, and so I started watering them as part of my daily routine. I truly loved looking at and caring for the plants everyday. Several months passed and, fortunately or unfortunately, I got a new job offer (which sounded more challenging) from the agent , and so I decided to say good-bye to the president of the company, with whom I had almost never spoken, in person. He said, “Really!! I just had a discussion with Mr X (Office Manager) and we decided to change your employee status from part-time to full-time. Zannen!! As a matter of fact, my wife always looked forward to chatting with you whenever she came to make changes to the plants and flowers. Thank you for taking such good care of them. All the best!” I was overwhelmed with his kind words and still fondly remember chatting with his wife briefly whenever she came in to the office. Since then, I have always included “watering plants” in my “things-to-do list” at the workplace(^^). A nice flashback!

There is a saying: If you praise the flowers for being beautiful, they will become more beautiful！