Friday, September 4, 2009

melancholy

Yesterday I heard (read) some news that startled me. And I haven't gotten so sad so quickly in a long time. Of course, death has a way of doing that to people.
I found out yesterday that a woman I used to work with in 2004-2005 (right before I had kids) passed away in a very tragic car accident in mid-August. Talk about a jolt to your heart. And I can't even begin to imagine the intense sadness her family, including her 16 year old son, is still feeling.
Crissy was so much freakin' fun to work with. She was your model worker and had a wonderful way with people. At the time we worked together, she was the assistant manager and I was store manager. I always joked with her on how much more she knew about managing compared to me. It's so true. She should have been store manager because I learned SO MUCH from her. She was so awesome with finding ways to include everyone's input and excitement. She was so funny and had a wonderful smile. Such a big heart too. I remember being so reluctant to do charity "shop nights" at night because I was so inexperienced (overworked and overtired all the time..lol) so anything extra was hard for me to do. She was such a natural with organizing these events and made them so much more fun.
I thought about her often (and the crew I used to work with) and missed her, and everyone, dearly. I hated how I cut communication with her because of my hormones and immaturity. Talk about regrets...
Right when I left that job I walked out and a few days later found out I was 5 weeks pregnant with James. Then I moved and started freaking out about being a mom. Instead of pushing her away I should have reached out to her more because she was a young mom, with a 12 year old at the time. And her son? Your model kid, too. She was also a single mom and to this day, blew me away with how awesome of a mom she was. She was so dedicated to Eric and always put his needs first. God she was amazing.

*******

On a more positive note, yesterday was my "other" Mom's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAMMY!!!! We love you so much!!!

James talked about your birthday a few times yesterday. He was so happy that he got to talk to you. I tell you, these kids miss and love you like crazy. As do I. ;)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Oh Dawn, I'm sorry to hear that awful news. You're right - it's hard to imagine what her family must be feeling right now. I'm sad that you feel regret about cutting communication with her. But I'm also a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So the next time you run into an amazing role model at work or in life, you'll remember Crissy, and you won't let your relationship fade in the same way.

Even though I don't know her, I hope Gammy had a fabulous birthday!!