A Little Mourning
My last day of work at the HC is tomorrow. What an oddity to be able to look forward to something so much and at the same time dread it equally as much. It’s been almost five months since I gave my notice at the beginning of May. We have had such a lot of crises at work in the last six months, I feel exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. I firmly believe that it is time I move into a new chapter, but when I think of all the hard work and energy that’s been poured into that place over the last five years, it is hard to just hand the baton over to someone else without mourning at least a little.
On Thursdays, I have a full day of classes, so I don’t get to the office until about 3:30. I was a little later than normal today because of some errands I had to run. On my drive to the office, I was mentally noting the last-minute things I still need to do. When I walked in the back door, however, I was taken by complete surprise to find the room full of people shouting, “Surprise!” I had a flashback to my 18th birthday party when my friends pulled a similar stunt. I handled the whole thing with about the same amount of grace I had then (which was none).
My colleagues have been very gracious over the past several months, putting in their little We’ll miss you’s, right on cue. But I’ve said goodbye to so many people over the years as I’ve eased in and out of my many “chapters” that I’ve just been doing what has become automatic for me: reciprocate the sentiment, brush it off, and go on.
I have always been the biggest advocate for separating personal life from professional life, and I have preached many sermons to my coworkers about this very thing. But when Sarah told me good-bye this afternoon and subsequently started crying, the ice around my heart began to melt. For the first time, I realized that there might actually be something behind all the words. To consider that I actually could be missed by someone is kind’ve nice. It was all very humbling and quite touching.
And so, I’ve decided that it’s ok to do a little mourning. And it’s alright if a tear or two is shed.
I can honestly say that my current “crew” of employees is the best combination I’ve had to work with since I’ve been here. Our personalities complement each other, and there just aren’t any major interpersonal conflicts with anyone—any Human Resources Dream Team.
In addition to being my Girl Friday, Dee is my front-line girl. She greets each and every patient as if they were a long-lost friend. Dee is very talented in that she is multi-lingual. She speaks those patients’ languages as if she were a pro. In addition to English, she speaks Hillbilly, Country, and Scrapbook Spanish. And when all other languages fail, she brings out the real weapon: Body Language. In the three years I’ve known her, Dee has had both her patients and her coworkers laughing hysterically at all her shenanigans. Dee is the drop of sunshine in my day.
My three medical assistants, Ann, Sarah, and Angela are a strong team. Ann is my faithful friend. She is the only other employee that has been there longer than I have. And if anything, Ann is dependable. Although many years my senior, Ann has never questioned my authority and has willingly done anything I have ever asked of her. Over the years, Ann has been my rock. When I think of loyalty, I think of Ann.
Angela is my resident Jack-of-all-Trades. She carries the many faces of transcriptionist, medical assistant, and scheduler. Angela is very good at learning and taking on new things. She is especially good in taking care of the little details. No matter how small the task, I know I can always count on Angela to remember to take care of it. Whether it’s filling the copier with paper or printing out daily reports or looking up the obituaries, Angela ALWAYS remembers.
And then there’s Sarah. The last time we went through the hiring process, Sarah was the last in a long row of applicants. Hers was the very last resume I had. I don’t know what it was, but I knew when I met her that I had found a good one. And indeed, my hunch has paid off. Sarah’s work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever seen. If she has any spare moment, she floats around, asking others if there is anything she can do to help them. Sarah always takes the initiative to stay busy, and as hard as she works, Sarah never complains. Additionally, her relaxed, easy-going manner makes Sarah someone who is easy to work alongside.
In a sense, these people have become my second family—my support group, for sure. Only these people can truly understand the tragedy of eating something with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. We know all about being skeptical of smoothies. We know what a Huddle is like. We know the crises that can evolve from negligence in leaving the bathroom fan on, failing to properly lock the hand-towel holder, and spraying air freshener into the very air we breathe. We’ve been properly trained to keep our fives from looking like threes. We know to stack the little plates on the Little Plate Pile and to stack the big plates on the Big Plate Pile. We know not to throw the pickle juice out, and we know that there is no mold bad enough that a little steam can’t fix. We show no surprise when watermelon is served to a lobby full of patients, nor do we flinch when a cattle call demonstration erupts from the kitchen. And if ants are on the daily menu, well… that really is no big deal either.
We know. And more importantly, we understand.
On Thursdays, I have a full day of classes, so I don’t get to the office until about 3:30. I was a little later than normal today because of some errands I had to run. On my drive to the office, I was mentally noting the last-minute things I still need to do. When I walked in the back door, however, I was taken by complete surprise to find the room full of people shouting, “Surprise!” I had a flashback to my 18th birthday party when my friends pulled a similar stunt. I handled the whole thing with about the same amount of grace I had then (which was none).
My colleagues have been very gracious over the past several months, putting in their little We’ll miss you’s, right on cue. But I’ve said goodbye to so many people over the years as I’ve eased in and out of my many “chapters” that I’ve just been doing what has become automatic for me: reciprocate the sentiment, brush it off, and go on.
I have always been the biggest advocate for separating personal life from professional life, and I have preached many sermons to my coworkers about this very thing. But when Sarah told me good-bye this afternoon and subsequently started crying, the ice around my heart began to melt. For the first time, I realized that there might actually be something behind all the words. To consider that I actually could be missed by someone is kind’ve nice. It was all very humbling and quite touching.
And so, I’ve decided that it’s ok to do a little mourning. And it’s alright if a tear or two is shed.
I can honestly say that my current “crew” of employees is the best combination I’ve had to work with since I’ve been here. Our personalities complement each other, and there just aren’t any major interpersonal conflicts with anyone—any Human Resources Dream Team.
In addition to being my Girl Friday, Dee is my front-line girl. She greets each and every patient as if they were a long-lost friend. Dee is very talented in that she is multi-lingual. She speaks those patients’ languages as if she were a pro. In addition to English, she speaks Hillbilly, Country, and Scrapbook Spanish. And when all other languages fail, she brings out the real weapon: Body Language. In the three years I’ve known her, Dee has had both her patients and her coworkers laughing hysterically at all her shenanigans. Dee is the drop of sunshine in my day.
My three medical assistants, Ann, Sarah, and Angela are a strong team. Ann is my faithful friend. She is the only other employee that has been there longer than I have. And if anything, Ann is dependable. Although many years my senior, Ann has never questioned my authority and has willingly done anything I have ever asked of her. Over the years, Ann has been my rock. When I think of loyalty, I think of Ann.
Angela is my resident Jack-of-all-Trades. She carries the many faces of transcriptionist, medical assistant, and scheduler. Angela is very good at learning and taking on new things. She is especially good in taking care of the little details. No matter how small the task, I know I can always count on Angela to remember to take care of it. Whether it’s filling the copier with paper or printing out daily reports or looking up the obituaries, Angela ALWAYS remembers.
And then there’s Sarah. The last time we went through the hiring process, Sarah was the last in a long row of applicants. Hers was the very last resume I had. I don’t know what it was, but I knew when I met her that I had found a good one. And indeed, my hunch has paid off. Sarah’s work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever seen. If she has any spare moment, she floats around, asking others if there is anything she can do to help them. Sarah always takes the initiative to stay busy, and as hard as she works, Sarah never complains. Additionally, her relaxed, easy-going manner makes Sarah someone who is easy to work alongside.
In a sense, these people have become my second family—my support group, for sure. Only these people can truly understand the tragedy of eating something with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. We know all about being skeptical of smoothies. We know what a Huddle is like. We know the crises that can evolve from negligence in leaving the bathroom fan on, failing to properly lock the hand-towel holder, and spraying air freshener into the very air we breathe. We’ve been properly trained to keep our fives from looking like threes. We know to stack the little plates on the Little Plate Pile and to stack the big plates on the Big Plate Pile. We know not to throw the pickle juice out, and we know that there is no mold bad enough that a little steam can’t fix. We show no surprise when watermelon is served to a lobby full of patients, nor do we flinch when a cattle call demonstration erupts from the kitchen. And if ants are on the daily menu, well… that really is no big deal either.
We know. And more importantly, we understand.
And now… moving on. My replacement has been trained and is ready to go, so let the New Chapter begin.
posted by Kris at 9/28/2006 10:21:00 PM
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