One of the many issues at this point in my life was that, for money reasons, I had to change jobs. Not a big deal for some folks but for me my job was the solid point in life, my refuge at times and I was having to leave it. It was in a secluded office with four male co-workers (guys keep their nose out of your business, priceless), there was no first hand public contact, the hours were flexible and the job duties were a perfect match for me. I thrived there! It was very upsetting to leave. One of my supervisors was a lady in Anchorage. One day before I left she said, "Maybe this is God's way of sending you to someone who needs you. And maybe it's His way of putting you near someone you need." Oh peshaw I thought! That couldn't be true. My life was being torn apart and here was this lady making some sense of all the turmoil........of all the nerve.
I started my new job in a building of a sea of 100+ cubicles. My work area consisted of a dozen cubicles, minimal human interaction (I'm okay with that part) doing a job that paid more but could easily have been performed by a monkey or first grader. A living hell that opened at 9am and closed at 5pm. Ugh, life threw me a curve ball. I swung and missed big time. Take me out of the game coach!
After roughly a month of drudgery in this new job, I realized that one of the people in my office had been going through some of the same "life issues" as me. She was a very quiet person, soft spoken but I could see she was smart, well-grounded and not a quitter by any means. Gut feeling told me she had a big heart; one that had been trampled on but nonetheless I could see it was there. I got the feeling that she didn't hold too many people close but then I had a habit of doing the same. She had a daughter who was a couple years younger than my son so we had that in common, too.
This is where the cart began to right itself. This is when I realized that my ex-boss in Anchorage was right. Oh, my God, she was right! Here was THIS woman in my new office who needed me and I needed her. Her name was Ti.
Ti and I quickly became and still are the dearest of friends. In fact, we joke that we're sisters who never met until we were grown adults. She's who I look to when I want to see what strength and calm really are. She's who I admire for her positive kick-life-in-the-butt attitude, her innumerable good qualities, priceless smile and contagious laugh. I know we each have our faults, our weak moments and our "leave me alone" times. We're each good at internalizing things until Life demands we tip our hand a little and lean on someone. Life keeps us busy so Ti and I sometimes don't talk or see each other for periods of time but it's like we never miss a beat when we can catch up to one another. I know we're always here for each other when it counts.
Isn't it strange how life plays out? When your cart is turned upside down with apples strewn everywhere, it's usually for a good reason. I figure all the bad apples had accumulated to excess in my life. Space had to be made for a new crop so Life gave the cart a good, hard kick. Part of this new crop was a new friend named Ti.
PS: Our kids also hit it off without a hitch, like they've always known each other. It does my heart good to see them talk, play and laugh. But that's another blog, another time.
Awright. You made me cry. And I think I needed to- I don't FEEL very strong, calm or capable right now, but maybe that's the whole point. I've got YOU.
ReplyDeletePJ- you're that 'Thousandth (wo)Man' Rudyard Kipling wrote about... thank you. For being you. I'm saving this and printing it, to fold into a little square and carry with me.