Death Comes on a Tuesday
As I've whined before, things have gotten pretty busy for me as of late. Two adult conversation classes, four elementary school classes (well, clubs), and then a bunch of events came rolling along to settle on top of that. Halloween. Town festival. Evening party. Cooking class. Xmas party. Mid-year conference. I was overwhelmed for a bit, but hey -- things could be worse, right? And as I finally adjusted to manage the load, things changed.
My friend and sidekick, Raka, got a call last night. Her father had gone into the hospital and was in critical condition. From what I heard, she was pretty shaken up. I guess his health wasn't the best, but this came as a surprise. I went to work this morning and it looked like she's spent a good amount of the night and morning crying. After a quiet conference with our supervisor and the section chief, she arranged to head home. Our supervisor took care of the tickets and leave paperwork, I took over all the things Raka was working on, and she went home to pack for her noon flight.
At some point in the next couple hours, before she left for the airport, she called the office. Her father had passed away this morning, probably while she was getting the ticket and other things together so she could get home to see him.
We had talked a week or two about plans for winter vacation. She said that she wanted to go home because she wanted to see her family, and her father especially, because she didn't know how much longer he might be around. She even mentioned last night that she wanted to hurry home so she could see him one last time... and now he's gone.
It's actually been easier to assume the extra duties and responsibilities in light of the situation. Little things become trivial, and big things are just small things that need to be done. Family and friends are, in so many ways, more important that any stress you might expend at work. Focus on the important things, and everything else will (hopefully) fall into place.
Have a good, safe flight, Raka. Bid your family well.
My friend and sidekick, Raka, got a call last night. Her father had gone into the hospital and was in critical condition. From what I heard, she was pretty shaken up. I guess his health wasn't the best, but this came as a surprise. I went to work this morning and it looked like she's spent a good amount of the night and morning crying. After a quiet conference with our supervisor and the section chief, she arranged to head home. Our supervisor took care of the tickets and leave paperwork, I took over all the things Raka was working on, and she went home to pack for her noon flight.
At some point in the next couple hours, before she left for the airport, she called the office. Her father had passed away this morning, probably while she was getting the ticket and other things together so she could get home to see him.
We had talked a week or two about plans for winter vacation. She said that she wanted to go home because she wanted to see her family, and her father especially, because she didn't know how much longer he might be around. She even mentioned last night that she wanted to hurry home so she could see him one last time... and now he's gone.
It's actually been easier to assume the extra duties and responsibilities in light of the situation. Little things become trivial, and big things are just small things that need to be done. Family and friends are, in so many ways, more important that any stress you might expend at work. Focus on the important things, and everything else will (hopefully) fall into place.
Have a good, safe flight, Raka. Bid your family well.
posted by Dehn at 21:47
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