Going Through to get To . . . there is a Blessing on the other Side

I had been with the company for 17 1/2 years & this year I would be celebrating 18 years!  Wow, where did the time go?  My team was pretty tight knit.  I was the Project Supervisor and I had people represented throughout the state.  Although we had lots of distance between us, we were able to connect on a regular basis.  One day (as a part of our normal duties) we had to hang the new televisions in the department.  While waiting on the guys to get the tools together, I decided to check my company email.  There was an email from Max, my manager's boss; it was an invitation for a conference call that morning.  I was a little surprised because normally there is a week's notice, but okay.  When the time came, I connected on the call.  Max started speaking, but it was weird because he was reading from a piece of paper; then the announcement was made, the company was getting rid of our department.  They were offering a severance package to those who wanted to leave the company and anyone who wanted to stay would have to re-apply.

There were some who were angry.  They had given their all to to the company for years, so they felt let down to have no notice.  The main thought on everyone's mind was Why?  I was shocked, but I took it as a sign and looked at this as a new journey in this half of my life.  What would I do in this next stage of my life?  50 is soon around the corner.  The next few months would prove to be a challenge financially, but having time on my hand allowed me to spend time with my my parents.  Even though I saw them getting older before my eyes before, I never slowed down enough to enjoy more than a moment's visit.  It felt good to be able to be there for them this past 6 months. 

One night I had gone home, it was a long day so I was tuckered out.  I got a phone call that eventually woke me up.  I looked at the phone and it was 1 a.m.  It was my mom was calling and she never calls at this time, so I'd better answer.  When I answered the phone, it was a man's voice- that's strange.  I kept listening, it was a police officer telling me that I needed to come to my parent's home.  Something happened to my dad and my mom wanted me to drive her to the hospital.  I got myself together, drove to get my mom and went to the hospital.  When we arrived they lead us to a room so that we could talk to the Dr.  Soon he and the nurse arrived.  I should've know something when he started the sentence with, "we've done all that we could do".  My father had expired; a moment I was always remember.

Being a Project Supervisor kept me on the road, so I was never still.  In retrospect, leaving my job was a blessing in disguise.  It allowed me quality time that would have never happened.  Time that I will always cherish.  The process allowed me to go through some hard times, in order to get to my blessing.