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xabearkat
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Name: tanya
Country: United States
State: Texas
Metro: Huntsville
Gender: Female
Interests: XA, reading, crocheting, cooking, beagle puppies, helping XA take over XAnga land
Expertise: PhD in Aquatic Whicker Art
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/10/2005
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| When going through tough times in the past, I have had to remind myself that God is in control. I assumed that others who went through hard times and said it were also reminding themselves. Not that I didn't think that they believed what they said, but that it wasn't something that they actually felt at the time. (Am I making sense?) I never thought that you could say and believe with everything in you "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
However, I am learning now that I was wrong. Today, I watched my step-mother die. Last year she was diagnosed with and then beat lymphoma. She relapsed in June. Though death was always a possibility, it was a remote one and we all fully expected her to recover. (Even the eternal pessimist, me.) So, it was a shock to receive a phone call Monday night saying that she had a horrible turn for the worst. On Tuesday, the doctors confirmed that it could be days or hours, most likely hours. A range of emotions have hit--it has been especially hard to watch my father cry and realize that he is now a widower and will be living alone.
But God has been so present. I marvel at what He has done and allowed. Some examples are:
1. God has brought such healing to my family. My father and I have become friends, and Margaret and I had started hanging out and doing things together. I don't take for granted that my dad has been confiding in me. If any of this had happened 5 years ago, I couldn't have been there for him.
2. I was able to find a new job that gave me the time off to be able to spend time with Margaret while she was in the hospital. This was very important to me to be there, and I think it showed Margaret and her daughter that I am committed to them. I know it gave her daughter some much needed time off (Margaret was in the hospital for over 10 weeks). It also gave me the unique opportunity to have some real conversations with her about God.
3. I have an amazing support system that has prayed for me and my family. (Some have even fasted...wow!) My phone didn't stop ringing or receiving text messages all day Tuesday. I have felt loved and supported from all directions. So few people know what that is like.
4. Though it was hard to walk away from "her" for the last time and just leave her in the hospital, I know that she's not really there. She is in heaven where she won't experience one second of pain, sickness, or sadness. She is with our Savior and dancing with Him. (Well, she never did like to dance. Maybe she's making Him a quilt.)
So, all that being said, God is definitely in control. I have felt His presence and His assurances for the past couple of days. I'm pretty sure that more stages are to come as I experience grief over this loss, but I know that He will be there.
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| Whew!!!! Have I mentioned that I didn't think I was going to live? I was positive that Aramark was going to kill me. Ha! They're going to have to try harder than that! My third manager in 9 months has begun his second official week here. His name is Anthony and he's from New York. He has 20 years of catering experience and is bringing a lot of ideas and stuff to the table. I'm cautiously excited. (Half of me is waiting for him to announce his resignation....) Some big differences I'm seeing: he wants to learn all of the paperwork (the last manager refused) and wants us all cross-trained so that anyone can do it; he is taking charge of some problems that have been going on; and (are you ready for this?) I'm getting two days off each week!!!!!!!!!! Plus, I'm not working 14-hour days anymore. Wow!!! I might start liking this job yet. My step-mother is officially cancer free!!!!!!! Isn't that amazing? God is good. OK. That's it for now. I'm going to go home and play with the pup. | | |
| So, I stopped blogging because I didn't think anyone really reads the blogs anymore; most people have switched to facebook. (I still don't understand the point of facebook. Maybe I'm just too old.) However, upon being able to see people outside of Aramark this weekend, I heard several remarks about me not updating....so, here goes!
Since my last post:
At work: my manager was fired. I then had to be at each event, had to be retrained on many things, and basically got to spent more time at work than away from work. (90 hour work weeks were normal; I think that I hit the record the week before thanksgiving with 110 hours.) Three weeks ago a new manager and a new assistant manager came on board. This next week we start rotational duties so that I no longer have to be around for every event. Whew!
The benefits? I learned a lot in a short amount of time. I know way more about catering than I would have had it not happened. I have also been able to learn what it is the director of SH Dining Services wants to see at the events. It took a while, but I finally caught on. Also, I think that the catering department has started turning around and begun to serve SH as it should.
At XA: ummmmm.....I have no clue what's going on there. That should change next semester as I hope to spend less time at work and more time in things that really matter.
With the fam: my stepmother has been battling cancer since September. it's curable, but she gets to go through months of torture (chemo) before she can be cured. It was a real shock to see her at Thanksgiving. Because of the number of people I come in contact with and her low immune system, we thought it best that I don't visit her. So, I was unprepared for what I found. She was very week, had shaved her head and was wearing a hat, and she looked so frail. She was unable to join us for lunch or for most of the day; instead she rested in the bedroom. I join my dad in thanks that we weren't visiting a gravesite after dinner, but it sure was hard to see her that way.
With the pup: Phoebe had been considering divorcing me as I'm never home. She is giving me one more chance next semester. Otherwise, she's perfectly content to tear up the house while I'm gone and gets to enjoy occasional trips to visit either set of grandparents. Both sets have a fenced-in back yard and other dogs to play with.
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| An update on my life: 1. My stepmother has been very sick for over two weeks. She runs fevers as high as 105, is weak, and can't hold any food down. She went to Bryan/College Station and was in the hospital for testing for several days; today she went to Houston for more testing. The doctors have yet to find out what's wrong with her. Please pray for her and for my dad. (I am unable to visit and help as we don't know what this is or how contagious it is.) 2. Work is going well--sometimes. The manager is out for at least two weeks, so I'm learning a lot of things quickly that I didn't have to know before. It's bad in that all last week I had to work from 5:30 or 6 am until 10 or 11 pm--my poor puppy gets way too much crate time. It's good in that I am learning way more of the business than I would have and I'm gaining confidence in the job. Maybe I can do this afterall.  3. My dreams have officially changed to catering dreams, except that last night I dreamt that I saw Curt Harlow. We were going to chat for a while about the challenges of living out in the workforce what I had professed to believe for so long while on staff with XA. We didn't get the time, though....I had to be in the bakery doing something for work...or something. | | |
| So, I had the funniest dream about XA's leadership retreat. Maybe the dream itself wasn't as funny as the fact that I dreamt about it while they were on it. *sigh* It's been weird this week....I have occasional "XA sightings," but that's about it. Work is going better. My manager and I are becoming a team and working well together. (yeah!!!) I've finally gotten over a lot of the transition stuff (it was pretty difficult to go from Utopia to "real world"), and I feel more in my element. I still have some things to learn, but I'm figuring out what works for me and am learning all the litttle nuances. I do think it's absolutely hilarious that everyone assumes that I don't know what it's like to work long days or know how it feels to be having 300+ people showing up any minute and several things are going wrong at once. Please! That's been my life. Bring it! 'Tis all for now! Have a great week! | | |
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