“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” ~ Frederick Buechner
Today has been surreal. The University has closed its doors and sent us home until the end of the semester. We’ve been scrambling for two days thinking this might happen, trying to get everything together that will allow us to continue working remotely. I was surprised by how sad I felt leaving our empty office. I’m not crazy about my job, but I’m proud to be working for my alma mater. Even on my worst days it makes me feel like I’m contributing to something bigger than myself. That was especially true when I was running the newspaper program. But sadder than walking out into a ghost town this evening is the fact that our colleague Judy Sackett just had her final two weeks swept out from underneath her without so much as a thank you, goodbye. This after being on the job for nearly 45 years. The announcement came so suddenly that she didn’t even have time to fully pack up her office. We had to cancel her retirement party, her special after hours dinner, and we sure couldn’t hug her goodbye. It just made a sad day all the sadder. Then I came home to find children playing in their yards, neighbors offering to help me with this and that, and a young man from up home delivering eggs to mom. I am reminded that the sun will come up tomorrow. We’ll go back to some semblance of normalcy in a few months (I hope it’s just a few months). We will celebrate Judy in a different, and probably better, way somehow. I will rejoice to see my co-workers and the Lunch Ladies once more. Until then, I’m going to enjoy having lunch with my folks and continue being so grateful to be their neighbor.
Mom
You show your friendship and love to everyone with whom you come in contact. So very proud of you and love you. You will always be our baby girl.