HEADING BACK NORTH TOWARD HOME

Well I was led to go back to my personal life stories today. After spending two years as an Assistant Manager in Customer Service with BellSouth in Savannah, Georgia, I was able to transfer back closer to home. I actually went to the South Fulton Office temporarily until another manager returned from leave then I would go to the Kennesaw Office. I thought it was pretty neat that I was going to be working in the same office building where I had started out my career with the Telephone Company some 12 years earlier.

Rick found us a house to rent in Powder Springs. I would only have a 20 to 30 minutes drive to work once I was in the Kennesaw Office. It was more like 45 minutes to an hour to the South Fulton Office. Boy was I glad when that temporary assignment was over. Most of the employees in that office had been there a very long time and they all had more seniority as far as time working for the company than me and they weren’t to keen on being a subordinate to me.

I remember my first supervisor was Edith Smith. She was German and could be very difficult to work with. But when I worked for her as my first job with the Telephone Company, she liked me and was always encouraging me. Now that I was back working with her as her equal, she didn’t show me the same courtesy. It was a very difficult time. I really began questioning my choice to go into management again as I had when I first got promoted and was transferred to Savannah. Thankfully it wasn’t long and I was working in the Kennesaw Office.

It just so happened my previous boss in Savannah was now my boss again in the Kennesaw Office. Mary was an amazing leader and teacher. She was very encouraging and we had become close while I worked for her in the Savannah Office. Her husband Jim became good friends with Rick too. We did things together on weekends and really got close.

I hadn’t been back very long to north Georgia when my mom had a stroke and I had to take a leave of absence to help her get her strength back and do therapy. It was actually around May in 1995 some 28 years ago this month that I was on leave caring for my mom. Gosh I can just feel that now. It’s kinda funny how certain times of the year and the smells of the seasons can remind you of periods in your life.

That was a very transformative time too just like it is now. You know we go through cycles in our lives. Some even repeat or the type of energy for a period repeats. I recall really looking at my life with a broad view as I am now. I truly felt I needed a drastic change then as I do now. I had been in management for three years at that time and it still hadn’t settled with me that was meant to be my life path. The leave to care for mother was actually very helpful for me to have time to contemplate my future with the company.

Mother’s therapy wasn’t a cake walk either. She didn’t want to do the therapies for her recovery. The stroke had left some of the muscles in mother’s throat damaged. She had trouble speaking clearly and when she swallowed her wind pipe stayed open and mother would aspirate her food. The doctors eventually had to put a feeding tube in for mother. She could no longer take ANYTHING by mouth. This was so hard for mother.

Wow, as I think back, there is another event that happened around this same time of year as it is now. 25 years ago yesterday, my mom passed to the other side, April 30, 1997. Today is May 1st, 2022. You know how I say there are no coincidences. This is definitely coming up for a reason. I believe it’s very possible there are some deep seated emotional issues that I need to release from this period that are trying to come forth now.