What A Difference A Week Makes

As I headed to work Monday morning, I knew it was going to be a week filled with stress.......

The last week of the month in retail mortgage is usually very busy.  My team was far from goal.  I had been out of the office the last two days of the previous week.  I had to take a test on a new management process that we had been taking classes, tests and practicing on since July.  If we didn't pass we would have to take the test again in 4 to 6 weeks. 

The week went pretty much as I expected.....crazy, busy, constant, stressful and exhausting.  Working late each night trying to get as many loans cleared to close as possible.  Coming home and studying for my test.  Oh and I had worked the past two Saturday's. 

By Wednesday, I felt like I was running on empty..........

Wednesday morning 9:00 AM.....time for the test.  One hour and 58 questions.  Each question was a few sentences long.  The multiple choice answers were each a sentence or two long.  It was just about all theory and situational questions.  You had to apply the theories learned in class to different scenario's.  The problem was .......so many answers were similar.  30 minutes.....15 minutes.....10 minutes....5 minutes....times up.  I looked at the other managers and they all had the same "what the hell was that?" look on their face!!!! We were expecting short multiple choice questions.....nothing at all like the test we just took. 

It is what it is ......back to work........back to trying to find loans to clear to close.

That night it was nice to go home and not have to study. 

Then the phone rang......it was 9:15.

Let me back up a little by saying the Chick-Fil-A that Bob works at was taken over by corporate a few months ago.  A new owner had just been brought in.  During the week, he has a person come in and interview the current staff. 

Well, the 9:15 at night phone call was to tell Bob he wouldn't have a job as of 10/1.  She said "they were going in a new direction".  This Chick-Fil-A....not Apple or IBM.......

Bob went to work the next morning at his scheduled time.  Some people never showed up. Some people came in and left.  Final count 17 out of 35 people lost their jobs.  Most of the long time and higher hourly rate people were gone.  Bob did work all his assigned hours and his job ended Saturday at 2:00. 

He was home about an hour when there was a knock at the door.  It  was one of the managers from his store who had also lost his job.  He and Bob had never been best buddies so his visit was a surprise.  He wanted to thank Bob for staying and working his hours.  He said Bob was the only one of the 17 to do that.

Back to Wednesday.....I stayed awake most of the night trying to figure out the household budget without the other income. We have been hit with some extra expenses lately so I am always trying to balance the budget...LOL....maybe I should work in Washington DC.

As I drifted off the sleep I thought "How much worse can it get?"

Thursday, my brother, George, called me at work.  I had just spoken with him on Wednesday so seeing his phone number pop up on my screen was a surprise.  He was calling to tell me my cousin, Gina, who I had just had a reunion with last month was sick.  She was diagnosed with cancer. I HATE CANCER!!!!!

I have been praying for her, her immediate family, her parents and siblings.  Gina has a fighting spirit and is going to give cancer one hell of a fight.  As her brother said ......"She is going to kick cancer's ass!!"

Suddenly all of my issues seemed so trivial.....not hitting goal for month end.....having to take a test.......even Bob losing his job.....in one short phone call all that took a back seat to what is most important.

I would appreciate it if you would stop for a minute and say a prayer for Gina and her family.