On a quest to clean and purge I thought I would hit my bags and purses that have been hanging on hooks buried under coats. I don't carry a purse very often. I prefer to stick what I really need in my pocket. I dug through the few of the more recently used bags to find the usual...gum, pens, loose change, etc. Then I got to the black purse. I realized that this bag was a time capsule taking me right back to December of 2006. I hung it on the hook and never used it again.
It was a few days after Christmas and my co-workers and I headed into work for a meeting. We would be going over budgets, inventories, bonuses and the numbers that showed us we were successful for the 8th or so year working there. This was not the case. I was handed a memo that simply said, "We are going in a different direction and you are no longer employed." We were stunned to say the least. Heartbroken and confused after years of dedication, service and hard work...I headed home. Lost. That purse was hung up on a hook on the wall inside a recently purchased new house. The next day was my son's very first birthday. The New Year would follow a few days later.
This is some of the stuff that I found:
-Y membership card
-laminated work phone list (Jenne, Carrie, Stephen, Danielle, Brenda, Bradley, Jessica, Renee)
-Target card (hasn't been used since...good for me)
-Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance card (haven't had insurance since except for a few short months)
-baby picture of my daughter
-business cards of Fred Peck, the realtor
-funeral card of a dear young friend I kept to remind me that life can be short
-Mac slips from an account long since closed
-business card of a pediatric cardiologist (Ethan gave me quite a scare with a heart noise they didn't
like...he ended up being just fine)
-paint swatch for a color I liked for my "bedroom"
-Pediatric booklet containing vaccine records
-lint roller
-lip gloss
-diaper
-receipt from Shoprite with saving of $19.23 (low for me and my quest to save w coupons)
-outdated coupons
-2 cards for out of business businesses
-said memo
Sometimes I look around and realize that my life went on HOLD for a long time. The job loss was the first domino in the rally I had been setting up. Only someone bumped the first domino and dismantled a life of work....I did not tap it gently when I was ready to watch the action. Many dominoes have followed...some quicker than others. Sometimes I feel as if I am standing there stunned while looking at a floor full of knocked over dominoes. Each one had been carefully laid out and placed for years only to have them fall because someone was careless as they walked by. It has been over four years and I am finally cleaning out the bag and dumping the useless contents. I will save what is relevant and keep what was "missing" and tidy up what is needed and maybe start catching up to where I am today. I'm finally clearing the floor and gathering the dominoes...
You should drive over and tape that memo to their door so they find it in the morning...just to remind them of who they really are...and you get to have the last word!
ReplyDeleteI was only there a short time and I was even stunned at the events that took place BUT I'm glad she waited until we (and you, too, Jenne) got to meet! might have never happened otherwise :)
ReplyDeleteHere's to rolling down the river of life in our inner tubes, enjoying the ride.
Jenne met her husband. We made good friends. We have some good jewelry. I purchased some great gifts. I had a safe place to work at while having babies. I had benefits when my gall bladder went downhill. There were lots of good things for years but like many things it just didn't end so nicely.
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