Catching Up

Its good to know that there are a few folks that do stop into this new blog now and then! I do appreciate it. Work has had me buried as of late. I suspect that until Jan 20, life will still be crazy on that front!

Speaking of work, I received sad news today. One of my favorite agency employees is going to reassigned back to her home agency. (She has been on temp. detail for a very long time to our agency!). My nickname for her is "My Whale." My Whale is one of those ghost people of the world who you see headed to work in the morning pulling her briefcase behind her and muttering to yourself. You think, "wonder where she is headed." She has the biggest heart but at times gets overwhelmed and very frustrated with those around her. She has suffered for years upon years with a serious of supervisors who don't understand her or wont take the time to get to know her and most importantly, listen to her. It has been a honor for me the last couple of years to listen to her. She never failed to bring a smile to my face.

She has taught me two very important lessons. 1. Say thank you to those who help you and support you in your job. She never fails to thank those of us who are in support roles. She emails. She hugs you. She even gets you the occasional cookies or flowers from the street vendor. The second lesson is "Its not about you." She gets very angry and frustrated and she lashes out. I have been on the receiving end of her lashes many times. It dawned on me in the last year that she was just scared. This past year, I have been tasked to bring lots of change to her processes. I know that she likes me and trusts me but too many other people have not listened. Her anger is not about me. She is scared and is responding from that place. I have learned to let her vent. And then I do my best to bring her back to center and move forward. When all is said and done, she remembers to Thank me and apologize. I have been yelled at and taken to task by many folks over the years but I have never had anyone come back to center with me.

I will miss her. I fear for her. Work is My Whales life. She eats and breathes her job. She works very long hours. I just don't know what she will do with herself when it is no longer. I just want to go to her and give her a hug. I have been working in the last year to teach her the meaning of the word "chillax." One of the interns that work with her printed it out and put it over her desk. I have been at every chance using the word around her. I have been encouraging her to take a well deserved vacation. Perhaps, she will use this as an opportunity to do some chillaxin' and vacationing.

You may wonder why I call her My Whale. Well, when I met her I was reading a book about how whales talk to each other. Humans just don't understand the code. I realized when I met her - she talked her own language and most people did not have the time to sort through the extraneous to get to the heart of what she was really saying. For some reason, I saw a kindred soul and could speak directly to her and her to me! I started saying that I speak whale! It was a gift, blessing and yes, at times, a curse!

So if you see a woman walking down the street next week near my job pulling a small carry on suitcase muttering to herself and looking pretty lost, Stop and give her a smile. She could probably use the kindness of strangers next week.