Friday Freestyles... Farewell Michelle!

It is FRIDAY!

A GREAT DAY!

That is what it is. And I get to leave work an hour early! GLORY!

I wish it was payday.  But it is not. Sigh.

And that is alright.

I was off yesterday. Off on a Thursday and had to come to work on a Friday. That is borderline ratchet.

I had an appointment to get my air conditioner serviced. And you know how that goes...

"We will arrive between 10 and 4 pm."

Humph.

That means off all day. Losing a day of work.

And that's fine. I use such times as decluttering days, and I listen to various podcasts and the like.

While folding clothes, I heard something rather simple that made an impact that day. I'm not sure what I was listening to, but it was something that stuck with me, enough so that I will treat it as the Quote of the Day.

"Everyday is a gift, and you should treat it like that."

Simple.

But to the point.

My air conditioner was repaired. It is about on its last leg, but the air is cool enough. And I heard the very good quote above, which made me think. And as I awaken this morning and wipe the sleep from my eyes, my prayers were a little different.

Today is a gift, and I receive that gift with much expectancy for the day.

And today, I lost a gift.  My cubicle mate and friend Michelle.

It's nothing bad or tragic, but a good thing. She's moving on to a new job. And she's excited about it, and I'm excited for her.  She was a gift, for this time in my life, for a reason, for a season. And that is awesome.

When she gingerly stepped over to my cubicle a few weeks ago and whispered "I got the job," I burst into tears. She had to grab me and hug me. I can usually compose myself, but that was SO shocking to me. I was losing my good cubicle buddy... and friend.

Here's a picture of her packing up her cubicle this week.

I got all emotional watching this, but I didn't bust out crying. I held it down!

Today was her last day, and here is her empty cubicle after she left.

She has left before. She was in Africa for two years. I was all shook up then, too. I made a going away card for her.

I didn't make a card this time. I just said good-bye. And I gave her a gift everyday this week- some gourmet teas from a tea shop I like, a bottle of my favorite soda, and some little containers for condiments.

She is such a great person.  And for me, what makes a person great (in my opinion only) is two things, amongst other characteristics. These are the two biggest for me, which are extremely rare.

1. She shared her personal story with me. This helps me understand her humanity. And I can appreciate and learn from her personal story. Yes, we all have a story. But I have run into folks who are snooty as hell, yet have some STUFF going on.

And come on... we all have stuff going on. Do you judge me for it? Do I judge you for it?

Nope. We appreciate and learn from each other.

And we had similar stories.

I appreciate her humanity. It has never been "Oh sh**, here SHE come with her craziness."  Always good vibes. And that's a good thing.

2. She has verbally chin checked me a couple of times.  There have been times when my behavior has gone a bit sideways (where I have been pissed about something, etc.), and she has ran up on me and said a few things that threw me back onto the road to wherever I'm going.

I so appreciate it. People like that always hold a special place in my heart.

They are few and far between. And she is one of them.

I don't have many friends in the workplace ON PURPOSE. Honestly, folks complain too much, and that rubs off on me, in a way that that will too become my behaviour.  Day after day after day of complaining, hate, and gossip DRAINS me.

And it leaves me depressed.

With Michelle, that has never been the case. It is always a good time and great vibes. We have our complaining moments but it is always a good vent and keep it moving.

Someone has to take over her cubicle, the infamous Sharbucks. 

We have someone picked out, but we will see how that goes.  There's some strange union-based program for assigning cubicles.  As long as it's not some emotionally and mentally messy individual, I don't care. I will take someone who doesn't speak to me or who ignores me over a corrupt messy joker ANY day. Hell,  I already have to watch each and every word I say as it is in my cubicle area, and that is right up against being unnerving. I don't want NO problems.

Do not make me pull out my Book of Cuss and read some verses.

Do not make me have to put up a silk paisley curtain at the entrance of my curtain.

Don't make me do it!

LOL.

She has spoiled me rotten. She notices when I am sick and trying to play it off. And she bought me some shoes, my "magic shoes" when I jacked up my toe last week. And there have been SO many other things she has done. There are TOO many to remember.

(Man listen... ya'll gonna have to come and  get me if some fool move into the cubicle across from me. I'm gonna have to practice using my inside voice if that happens. Ugh.)

Anyway, my homie, my "African -American" friend (since she has lived in the motherland), is going on to bigger things!

Good for her!

Sad for me! *hard ugly cry*

This morning she was a part of my prayers. Thank you for the gift of Michelle.

And that makes me smile instead of crying. 

She is still in town, so we will text and talk often enough. Her son is a play up the road, so I will be attending that on Saturday night. The convo was interesting today.

"Girl, I still have some of your tupperware at home!  I will bring it to the play tomorrow!" I said, as I ran up in her cubicle.
"Uh, no," she said. "Just keep it.  It's alright."

And I will.

So I will miss you. I will miss hearing "What's up, Oldgirl?" when I get to work in the mornings.  I will miss all those delicious veggies and soups and the like. They were so good. And I appreciate all of our talks over the years.

You are going on to bigger things. New house, new job!

(I always look at people without blinking when a load of new things start happening in their lives. I wonder... "What have they been praying about? What is this a manisfestation of?)

So here's a song I know she is never heard before. It's the Song of the Week, an oldie but goodie...

"You are my Friend" by Patti Labelle.


The live version!



You know how Patti get down! Starting off with a high note!

That performance singed my eyebrows!

So long, Michelle!

A new chapter in your life has began!

And like all the other chapters, I am sure it will be a great read!

Love,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Oldgirl,

LadyLee.