The inside of my brain lately has been very negative and it is difficult to step back and look at things anew when a bad remake of The Empire Strikes back is under way. My current job, though I am outside rain, shine or freezing temperatures, is crumbling from the inside out and those around me who work inside are about to lose their jobs-most if not all of them. This situation is like the one I left over a year ago and that makes my hair stand on end.
The board of directors where I work have fired and fired and fired quite a few people. The board has hired Pacific Retirement Services Inc. to come in and take over the management of a Quaker inspired retirement facility that has been run quite differently over the last quarter of a century and then some. People who work where I toil have come to see the residents as their family and served them like family. However, the board is now angry because staff and residents are outraged at their actions and have now fired back that Pacific will be coming in sooner than February. Nerny, nerny, nerny.
It feels very sad to watch a sweet way of life come tumbling down. The accounting department could be gone in a weekend and my partner's job with it. There could easily be more empty parking spaces on campus-many are already vacant-due to firings and suspensions. Corporate takeovers are never pretty are they?
I try to remain detached and that is not possible. Although I have watched the end of my government service career go the same way and be the only one who was outraged and almost insane over the stress, I now have much company and yet we all feel powerless. At some point, I will be forced to make a choice based upon my values and ethics even though I am a gardener and not a paper pusher. The residents will not be able to do anything about the changes and many won't want to jeopardize their way of life.
For today, I will enjoy my Sunday which has more than enough tasks in it with blue skies all around and the sun still shining down. I will cherish what I have in life and hope for more because hope is all we ever call our own anyway. For today, I shall revel in having a few bucks in the checkbook and spending some of it on the house. Maybe there will be a latte in there for me.
For today, I will bless the grounds and especially the persimmon trees of the place where I work that wait for me to arrive Monday morning and rake, sweep, pull weeds, haul and tend their lovely presence. They are amazing to see this time of year as their leaves turn that shade of coral and hover on the ends of branches about to cascade to the damp earth leaving behind their bright orange fruit.
The persimmons are something like our hope that lingers even after the end of difficult times and difficult choices. They are beautiful and lush and very real even though winter comes on with the rush of fallen leaves.
