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Tuesday, 10 March 2009

Yesterday’s News - Not!

By Claire Jean

Netti called one evening when I was not at home. She had news. She told my husband that the company where she had been employed for the past thirty years offered her a buyout. They were downsizing, laying off, etc. Back in the day, we called it firing. These days the words, although producing the same results, seem to require a more gentle tone.

I did not get back to Netti right away. I meant to, but one thing or another prevented me from calling sooner than I did. Thinking about how I might handle such news, I wondered how she was coping with this major change in her life.

Netti is my husband’s cousin. She and I will turn 67 in March, and that’s about where the similarities end. We respect and care about one another as long as we leave politics and religion out of the conversation.

At age 2, Netti’s son was diagnosed as mentally challenged. Soon after, her husband fled, never to be heard from again. She raised her son on her own and continues to oversee his life as he approaches his 43rd birthday.

Netti was on welfare for a time before she got a job at a well-known company as a typist. It did not take long for her to climb within the ranks of the company to where she remained all these years. Thirty years ago, one was not required to have a college degree. They just had to be good at what they did.

Netti lived and breathed her job. She worked endless hours and, when her son required hospitalization, was known to conduct work from his hospital room. Her tireless work ethic allowed her salary to rise along with her status in the company. She was and is able to provide her son with the best possible schooling, living conditions and counseling available.

Netti traveled far and often for her job. She, out of necessity, acquired a network of friends who kept things going at home and who could be counted on to help should something come up when she was unavailable.

Netti feels free at last. Her work responsibilities end just weeks before her 67th birthday. She no longer has to drive 50 miles each way to the office, fly out on business or cut short vacations. She is set financially. I’ve never heard her sound so delighted or relieved in all the years I’ve known her.

She talked endlessly about the many things she could possibly do now. Maybe join a book club, take some courses, get a real estate license, go to a movie and not fall asleep, even make a rum cake - the list went on and on.

Rather than seeing herself as yesterday’s news, Netti, I believe, sees herself as tomorrow’s headlines.

[EDITORIAL NOTE: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. Instructions are here.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post