The Day After - part one
I woke up from a dreamless sleep and it took all of 30 seconds for reality to wash over me like one of the waves at Bolsa Chica where my dad would take Number 2 and I every summer weekend. Those waves could flip you up and pound you into the sandy bottom before you could regain your balance and find your way to the surface. I felt like I had been pounded into the sand.
I'm the last person to wake up. Number 2 and my Mom are feeding the Chicken. It's difficult to get too down about things when the Chicken looks up at you and yells "Happy!"
"Do we need to go to the funeral home today?," asked Number 2.
"The only thing we need to do today is make an appointment with the funeral home," I replied.
"We aren't going to go there today?" This kid is asking a lot of questions and I haven't even had a Coke yet.
"Nope. We'll make the appointment for Saturday. I can't even wrap my brain around what's going on and I'm not ready to talk to them today. Let's wait for tomorrow."
I grab a phone and call the funeral home. It's like calling any other corporate call center. I'm going to hate dealing with these people.
I make an appointment with a Sales counselor for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and relay the news to Number 2. He's already spoken to his manager and will be off work through the end of next week.
It's time for me to talk to somebody at work. I go back to my bedroom and call The Confidant. We met as I was starting my career in management at my company and she was completely changing her career path. The Powers That Be put us together in an office five years ago and both of us reaped the rewards of this new working relationship. Simply put, she is my best friend at work.
She let me talk for a bit and told me how sorry she was. I'm not one to show too much emotion and I think I surprised her with how upset I was. She felt bad too because she was about to leave on a pretty big vacation the next Tuesday and wouldn't be able to come to the memorial service. I asked if we could go out to lunch on Monday and she was more than happy to.
After that, I spoke with my manager. I've known her since the first day she hired in at our company and our paths had crossed many times over the last 10 years. I told her that I needed to take at least next week off and maybe some additional time after that. She was so kind and empathetic. I could tell that my grief was starting to get to her and she was starting to choke up too.
Of all the managers that I've had over the years, I'm so happy that I'm working for this one as I go through this.
I put the phone down and get dressed. I head back to the living room and tell Number 2 what I want to do next.
"We need to go to Dad's and get all of the guns and the cash out of that house."
VW
I'm the last person to wake up. Number 2 and my Mom are feeding the Chicken. It's difficult to get too down about things when the Chicken looks up at you and yells "Happy!"
"Do we need to go to the funeral home today?," asked Number 2.
"The only thing we need to do today is make an appointment with the funeral home," I replied.
"We aren't going to go there today?" This kid is asking a lot of questions and I haven't even had a Coke yet.
"Nope. We'll make the appointment for Saturday. I can't even wrap my brain around what's going on and I'm not ready to talk to them today. Let's wait for tomorrow."
I grab a phone and call the funeral home. It's like calling any other corporate call center. I'm going to hate dealing with these people.
I make an appointment with a Sales counselor for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and relay the news to Number 2. He's already spoken to his manager and will be off work through the end of next week.
It's time for me to talk to somebody at work. I go back to my bedroom and call The Confidant. We met as I was starting my career in management at my company and she was completely changing her career path. The Powers That Be put us together in an office five years ago and both of us reaped the rewards of this new working relationship. Simply put, she is my best friend at work.
She let me talk for a bit and told me how sorry she was. I'm not one to show too much emotion and I think I surprised her with how upset I was. She felt bad too because she was about to leave on a pretty big vacation the next Tuesday and wouldn't be able to come to the memorial service. I asked if we could go out to lunch on Monday and she was more than happy to.
After that, I spoke with my manager. I've known her since the first day she hired in at our company and our paths had crossed many times over the last 10 years. I told her that I needed to take at least next week off and maybe some additional time after that. She was so kind and empathetic. I could tell that my grief was starting to get to her and she was starting to choke up too.
Of all the managers that I've had over the years, I'm so happy that I'm working for this one as I go through this.
I put the phone down and get dressed. I head back to the living room and tell Number 2 what I want to do next.
"We need to go to Dad's and get all of the guns and the cash out of that house."
VW
posted by JVW at 9:53 PM
1 Comments:
VW wrote - "Of all the managers that I've had over the years, I'm so happy that I'm working for this one as I go through this."
I have to say...I've gotten a little bit of grief over this line. :)
I've had four different managers over the last five years. All are still with the Company that I work for and I speak with all of them on a regular basis.
What kind of surprised me was that the three that I no longer work for all reached out in their own way to offer their support and let me know that they were thinking of me as I went through this.
It was very much appreciated and it will be an upcoming chapter (although, at the rate I'm publishing, it will be the fall of 2010 before that story is posted).
VW
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