A weekend ago, I spent some quality time with my friend Mary. She celebrated a birthday and it was a valid excuse to go out and celebrate. I wanted to take her to the Chop House downtown where we could likely bump into a famous face... Lord Tebow maybe?, but after minutes circling the area and not finding a parking spot that wouldn’t cost us a dime, we shifted gears and headed closer to the mountains.
Mary suggested lunch at the "Fish Place." I had the impression that she meant an eatery where fish was the prime offering. Minutes later as she drove into the restaurant parking lot, I found out that the "Fish Place" was actually Red Lobster. Not a bad choice, I said. It has been ages since I ate there.
Unfortunately, neither of us ordered the “lobster.” Quite a shame since that would have been the most appropriate choice. We both had the Tilapia entrée preceded by freshly baked bread, delicious soup and salad and followed by sumptuous dessert. In between, we had stimulating conversation about everything under the sun and what’s going on in our lives.
Mary is "semi-retired" (translation: a layoff casualty who continues to be unemployed) and spends her days looking after Tucker, her only son’s dog. Mary is a breast cancer survivor and this March, she celebrates her fourth year of being cancer-free. Hallelujah! Tucker (the dog whom Mary refers to as "my grandpuppy") obviously keeps her sane, healthy and happy.
She asked about my new job. I tried to sound positive and absolutely grateful, but in the end I had to confess that although my work presented a great deal of challenges, it had given me a bit of concern. I told her that doing what I was paid to do might be better suited for the 20- or 30-somethings. In my work world everything is fast-paced and if I am not too careful, the stress might present unwanted health issues.
Mary cautioned me about letting the stress get to me. She suspected that her breast cancer was caused by all the stress she experienced in her long-term Human Resources position. According to her a few other women who worked in the same office who had stressful work loads also got bitten by the breast cancer bug.
At the end of our lunch, I felt so grateful for having a friend like Mary. She was upbeat and positive despite being unemployed for more than three years (blame it on the layoff trend in Corporate America). Even if she was feeling down and depressed, she managed to not let her own unemployed status make her feel defeated.
I wish I could get Mary hired for a job, but all I can really do is to pray that the right position will come along for her. While that reality has not come to pass, we will continue to meet for occasional tea or lunches, chitchat about things that bring us joy, and hope that the Universe will send blessings to make everyone’s life better.
