Dear K.Lo,
As acknowledged in your recent not-so-great performance review, each stage of training does have positives in addition to, or in spite of, its drawbacks. To let you know I haven't completely lost heart in your performance or this company, let me say, I do really like the way you:
-climb up on your step stool and say, "I'm tall!"
-say "Please," "Thank you," and "You're welcome" so much of the time.
-laugh and look so pleased with your mirror reflection after I put barettes or pigtails in your hair.
-thoughtfully say "Ummm" when picking out a cookie.
-know to only take one cookie and don't try to fight about it.
-sometimes ask to go shopping in the morning, usually to Costco!
-wear just a shirt and a diaper around the house, with maybe a hat or a pair of shoes that you picked out and put on yourself.
-wave toys over your coworker's head and gently pat his hair.
-replace N.Lo's pacifier when he spits it out.
-always give N.Lo a "tiss" (kiss).
-say before every break, or when clocking into the Night Shift, "Night-night, I love you, bye-bye!"
-offer all your coworkers some of your snack.
-eat your vitamins with enthusiasm.
-ask to brush your teeth and get excited about "the paste."
-share so many of The Manager's favorite foods, such as cheese, chocolate, pasta, and pickles, and sometimes (just like The Manager) eat them in an unlikely consecutive order.
-are obsessed with fruits, like oranges, apples, grapes, and bananas, and how you refuse to eat them in any way but whole.
-use Cheerios to "cook" by stirring them up/grinding them through your little colander.
-always find and point out the moon, especially during the day.
-hear and point out planes flying in the sky, often noting, "There it goes."
-shout the names of your favorite people as though nothing in the world is so happy as their company.
-want to try everything The Manager is doing, even cleaning the toilet bowl.
-say, whenever we get home, "Hi Bender! Hi Bailey!" to the Canine Staff.
-request to watch very particular characters, such as Lilo, Nemo, and Elmo.
-"read" your own books out loud to yourself, often getting the story quite right, according to the pictures.
-climb up and down from your own car seat.
-experiment with certain phrases, such as "Shake and bake," in every possible cadence.
-pick out your own shirts and jackets and try to put them on.
-say the new fish are "cool."
-play peekaboo behind shower doors and over the laptop screen, and belly laugh when our eyes meet.
-run off with The Manager's belongings, such as a book or a shirt, and say "Mine! Can't have it!" while giggling maniacally.
-work out problems on your own sometimes and say to yourself, "There you go! You're welcome!"
-constantly come up with a new skill, feat, quirk, expression, etc. that I could add to a list such as this.
Sincerely,
Your Manager
I like to imagine K.Lo reading this list when she's about 14.
It's fantastic. I like, "There you go. You're welcome." I may employ this approach in my own work life.