The Office

I know, I whine quite a bit about my job. And frankly, it's justified. A trained monkey could do what I do. But work is work--it gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. A salary and health insurance are truly wonderful things. And as much as the professional types make me want to cry at the outrage of their self-inflated, over-educated idiocy--the staff really are amazing.

Case in point.

Today is KC's last day. She's worked for this place for 34 years. In the past year we've watched her beat breast cancer down, and she hardly ever talked about it. She keeps a voodoo doll in her office and when any of us are having a bad day, facing over-exposure of the professional types, we can go in and stick pins in the voodoo doll.

She bought lunch for all of us today. And we sat around in the conference room over our Chinese food and we talked and laughed and I looked around at these people. Who could not possibly be more different from one another, and I thought to myself what an odd sort of Dickensian family we are.

And I know, it's nothing new, that you spend more time with your coworkers than you do at home, awake and conscious--but it doesn't feel true until the imminent loss of one of those family members. People have come and go around her and she has been the epicenter of constancy in our department. There is no story so crazy that she has not heard it all before. Nothing shocks this woman. Many things will make her laugh. Others will outrage her on behalf of any one of her staff members. She has been our friend and advocate, for as long as all of us have been here.

She told us the hilarious tales of the worst interviews she's conducted ever, some highly unproductive meetings staffed by crazy professional types and we laughed and settled and laughed and settled. And I couldn't help but think that our tiny little world here will be a little gloomier for the absence of KC.

And yes, I know. I'm pregnant and being hyper-sensitive. She isn't dying, she's retiring. She'll still be available on email. But it's not the same. She won't be HERE--in her office. Our jobs are hard enough. She has been a true Fezziwig for us, making our burdens seem lighter with her laughter and her presence. She will be very much missed.