Carolyn, the Fairy Godmother

Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the drops of rain were bucketing from the sky, an admin queen sat at a window filing.  The mountains of papers were piling up around her. And whilst she was filing and looking out of the window at the rain, she sliced her finger with a paper cut, and three drops of blood fell upon the financial statements. And the red looked pretty upon the white paper, and she thought to herself, ‘if only I had a lady who could put pen to paper, as sharp as a tack, and a good worker to get all this filing done’.

Soon after that a lady came to work at Lincolns who could put pen to paper, and who was sharp as a tack, and she came with good references, and she was called Carolyn Walker.

Since the moment Carolyn arrived at Lincolns eleven years ago, she has had a wonderful relationship with all the Partners and the rest of the team due to her caring nature. As a child, Carolyn had been sent away to boarding school with the nuns which taught her values that many people lack in today’s society.

The admin queen was a very good worker, but proud and haughty, and she became quite jealous of Carolyn.  The admin queen had a wonderful mirror, and when she stood in front of it and looked at herself in it, and said,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?"

The mirror answered,

"Thou art fairer than all who are here, admin queen.
But Carolyn Walker has skills I have never seen.

Thankfully this fairy tale is not very grim, and the admin queen did not hire a huntsman to have Carolyn archived. Over time she learnt to accept Carolyn for who she was. One crazy lady with seven amazing dwarf-like qualities!!

Happy

Carolyn exuberates happiness, she is very bubbly and bright. She has a wicked sense of humour and loves to play jokes on anyone and everyone. She is politically incorrect because, in her words, “she can get away with things the older she gets”. A few years ago, the partners hosted Lincolns Olympics for an EOFY party. The team was broken up into various countries and everyone had to come dressed accordingly. Not Carolyn! She came dressed as Julia Gillard protesting against boat people.

Bashful

Carolyn is reluctant to draw attention to herself with respect to the work she is given. She is a very hard worker and has always given that bit extra. There will always be jobs that nobody wants to do. Her advice is to be grateful for any job you are given, make sure you do it properly and to a high standard.

Grumpy

Carolyn can get a little grumpy when our old school values are being forgotten. We are very lucky at Lincolns to all be treated as part of the family; we are not just a number. Unfortunately, some of us take things for granted and she wishes everyone would work harder and give a little more.

Doc

Carolyn has always taken it upon herself to look after the young ones at Lincolns. To make them feel more at home and guide them through their first job out of high school or if they are new to town. It is for this reason Carolyn is affectionately known as Grandma.

Sleepy

Carolyn came to work at Lincolns when she was 62. This was before there were incentives to employ “old people”. Carolyn believes she got the job because there was a slim chance she would fall pregnant. The Partners failed to make allowances for her nana naps during the day.

Dopey

Carolyn chooses to be a little dopey when it comes to technology and blissfully ignorant about computers. Carolyn often joked about Lincolns trying to get rid of her by continually introducing new technology and moving towards a paperless office. Carolyn has grave concerns for young people with the use of mobile phones and the addiction to technology. It is disappointing to see people using their mobile phones when meeting friends for coffee.

Sneezy

No, we are not crying that Carolyn has retired. We just sneezed!

It has been a very emotional few weeks leading up to Carolyn’s retirement. We asked Carolyn what she will miss the most? Apart from keeping fit, running up and down the stairs all day. She will miss all the people and how we support each other.   

Carolyn has had a huge impact on everyone at Lincolns over the years. It is hard not to be upset that she is retiring. We wish Carolyn all the very best in her retirement.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It’s home from work she goes.