Workin' 9-5, What A Way To Make A Livin'
On Monday, August 4, 2014, my mom went into work never expecting to come home without a job. The first Monday of every month her department had monthly goal meetings. They discussed goals met, expectations for next month, and discussed any issues and concerns they had. That first Monday in August while waiting for her supervisor to come in, in walks the the supervisor and HR. HR announced that the department was being let go, here's a box, and you have 10 minutes to clear your desk and be escorted out the building. No one saw it coming. To say she was shocked and devastated would be an understatement. I can still remember the phone call I received from her after leaving the office telling me they were all let go. I could hear the tears, the shock, the fear, and the uncertainty.
My mom was a garnishment agent for a legal company that dealt with auto loans. She did this for 14 years. If you skipped out on an auto loan, the company she worked for could repo your car, take your wages, and take your bank account. She was THAT person. But she also had a heart. Her coworkers called her "the office social worker". She always tried to work with the elderly or the people who got taken advantage of. Her job was also very dangerous. Verbal and physical threats were made all the time. But she liked what she did and she was good at it.
Working for this company and having MS wasn't always the easiest. My mom never took sick days. She went to work regardless of the pain she was in. She always had a doctors note if she was out of the office. One day her supervisor came to her and said she needed a note proving she had MS. What? She was told that if she didn't provide the note she would be fired. Everyone in that office knew she had MS. Why now? The ignorance of people towards her and her disease was also something very present. A coworker walked up to her one day and said "you know, if you just believed in Jesus you wouldn't have MS", and then just walked away. Oh, ok.
The day she was let go changed her life forever. She's never not worked. Ever. She's been working since she was 15 years old. At times, she's worked 2 jobs, went to school full-time, raised kids, and had MS all at once. Working gave her a sense of purpose. Now that she wasn't working, she felt useless and worthless. She felt embarrassed. She felt ashamed. She could no longer provide for us like she used to. She now had to reply on me for money, to pay bills, house repairs, food, and help with doctor costs and medication. She had to go through all of her 401K and unemployment. It lasted less than a year. Had her SSID not kicked in when it did, we would have been homeless. One month is all it takes to lose everything. One of the hardest parts about all this for her was that she worked so hard all her life to be set up for retirement. Now, she has nothing to show for it. That was a hard pill to swallow.
She now finds happiness in the small things in life. She's taken up a new hobby of painting. She connects more with her fellow MS friends and community. She's been involved in advocacy work with multiple MS organizations. She believes it's her purpose in life to spread awareness and connect with others just like her. She loves it. Loosing her job has gave her a new sense of purpose.
She may not be working a 9-5 anymore, but she still has the most important job in the world, being a mom. To me, that's her best work she's done yet.
My mom was a garnishment agent for a legal company that dealt with auto loans. She did this for 14 years. If you skipped out on an auto loan, the company she worked for could repo your car, take your wages, and take your bank account. She was THAT person. But she also had a heart. Her coworkers called her "the office social worker". She always tried to work with the elderly or the people who got taken advantage of. Her job was also very dangerous. Verbal and physical threats were made all the time. But she liked what she did and she was good at it.
Working for this company and having MS wasn't always the easiest. My mom never took sick days. She went to work regardless of the pain she was in. She always had a doctors note if she was out of the office. One day her supervisor came to her and said she needed a note proving she had MS. What? She was told that if she didn't provide the note she would be fired. Everyone in that office knew she had MS. Why now? The ignorance of people towards her and her disease was also something very present. A coworker walked up to her one day and said "you know, if you just believed in Jesus you wouldn't have MS", and then just walked away. Oh, ok.
The day she was let go changed her life forever. She's never not worked. Ever. She's been working since she was 15 years old. At times, she's worked 2 jobs, went to school full-time, raised kids, and had MS all at once. Working gave her a sense of purpose. Now that she wasn't working, she felt useless and worthless. She felt embarrassed. She felt ashamed. She could no longer provide for us like she used to. She now had to reply on me for money, to pay bills, house repairs, food, and help with doctor costs and medication. She had to go through all of her 401K and unemployment. It lasted less than a year. Had her SSID not kicked in when it did, we would have been homeless. One month is all it takes to lose everything. One of the hardest parts about all this for her was that she worked so hard all her life to be set up for retirement. Now, she has nothing to show for it. That was a hard pill to swallow.
She now finds happiness in the small things in life. She's taken up a new hobby of painting. She connects more with her fellow MS friends and community. She's been involved in advocacy work with multiple MS organizations. She believes it's her purpose in life to spread awareness and connect with others just like her. She loves it. Loosing her job has gave her a new sense of purpose.
She may not be working a 9-5 anymore, but she still has the most important job in the world, being a mom. To me, that's her best work she's done yet.
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