A short story about reacting to loss.
It is strange how we react to events in our life.
When our family dog, Sam, a beautiful golden retriever was 11 years old, and could no longer stand on his legs, we took the very difficult decision to euthanize him …
My 4 year old daughter’s reaction surprised me …
Can we have a gold-fish ?
The intense sadness of our loss did not seem to reach her … instead she saw opportunity for a new beginning.
A month later, we were driving back from school, when she asked me …
Sam is not coming back, is he ?
Reality caught up to her, and she finally cried, and cried …
As a father, I was relieved …
Late last year, my 18-year position with my employer came to an end.
Instead of grief, I felt energized. The feeling reminded me of graduating from university, when the world felt wide open and full of possibility.
I want to explore contract work, and the reactions have been encouraging.
In the remaining 7 weeks of my current employment, I threw myself into overdrive, determined to finish everything I wanted to accomplish before D-day.
Little did I know, I was having my gold-fish moment …
Here we are, a little less than two weeks before D-day, and I have finished most of the tasks I wanted to accomplish.
Enough so, that I can actually feel myself pulling away from this reality …
And just like that … it hit me …
I may no longer work with the partners I have had the privilege to know.
Although some relations may continue, others may disappear like a light switch being turned off …
Today, I cried … I cried a lot …
I cried far more than I ever expected …
It is strange how we react to events in our life.