Proof That All Men Aren't Evil

I was overwhelmed by other people's generosity last week -- my boss and my father, two of the most important men in my life.

My father spoiled me with two things this week: New phones and new couches.

Anyone who has talked to me on my home over the past two years knows that there are only certain areas of my living space where my HOME phones would actually get reception. They were free phones from when I signed up for my phone service. And they did not like living at my house. They pitched a fit and spewed static over the lines from almost their first day here.

My father finally reached a point where he couldn't take it anymore. It was bad enough that my cell phone doesn't work in the house (thus necessitating a home phone at all), but to not be able to hear me on my home phone either? It was just too much. He also hated that he couldn't call and leave me a message. Instead my phone would ring and ring and ring and ring and ring and ring and ring, etc.

So, he called me on Thursday out of the blue and told me that he'd bought new phones for me. Not one handset, not two, but three! With a speakerphone! And an answering machine! And the ability to have more than one phone in the house on the line at the same time (though I haven't seen any benefit in that as my children try to listen to every conversation anyone is having on the phone now. Thankfully, you get a warning beep when someone picks up another phone.) They're wonderful. I can now walk outside or to the corner of my living room and still be able to talk on the phone.

He also bought me new couches. I think it was out of fear that I was going to rip my hair out trying to figure out a way to keep my old couches clean because of my monkeys kids. Every time I walked into my apartment and saw the couches, I felt defeated. Why bother cleaning the rest of the house? The first thing you see when you walk in the door are my water-stained, chocolate-smeared, dirt-smudged sofas. An opinion of my cleanliness must be formed upon looking at them (and it can't be a good opinion), so I might as well live up to it and let the rest of the house fall into disrepair.

I've been reborn! My couches rock! See for yourself:



If the kids spill water on them, I can wipe it up! If the kids smear chocolate on them, I can wipe it off! If they get dirt on them, I can ... You get the picture. They're wipe-able! On top of it, they are incredibly comfortable! The only downside thus far, is that the kids fight over the recliner (peeking it's head out in the corner of the picture). We now have a set amount of time each one can spend on it until the newness wears off.

I'm so, so lucky.

As for my boss ...

Two of my tires were in bad shape (and none of them were in great shape) -- one being nearly bald of tread and the other losing air rapidly thus needing me to air it up on a twice-daily basis. My boss overheard that I was looking to buy used tires to put on until I could afford new tires, and insisted on buying me all new tires because I do a lot of driving for work (which I love) and because I drive with my kids. So, I went from worrying about how I was going to replace at least two tires to having all new tires. I was speechless and overcome with gratitude at his generosity. (And this is just one thing in a long string of things they have done for me.) It was such a huge relief.

Tomorrow is his birthday. He will turn 49. Last year, we weren't allowed to mention his birthday in hopes that if no one noticed that he'd turned 48, then perhaps he would be okay. You see, every man in his family that has passed away (his father, grandfather, two uncles) all passed away when they were 48-years-old. He was terrified that it was his fate as well. It's been a long, worrisome year even though he's in excellent shape.

For his birthday, we (his employees) have all decided to let him know what he means to us with our words be they verbal or written. Because I'm a much better written speaker than verbal speaker, I wrote him a letter. This is what I wrote:

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! YOUR 49TH! WHAT A GREAT DAY!

Although you had me momentarily scared with your frenzied bout of sneezing on the eve of your birthday, I was never really worried that you wouldn't make it through the year. You're here on this Earth for a reason, and you still have a lot of greatness left to share with the people around you and the people you've yet to meet.

Before I went to work at The Job Factory*, I had been a stay-at-home mother for seven years. Going back to work was quite a shock. It was confidence building, but it was also rather demoralizing in that I was surprised at what a dog-eat-dog world we really live in and work in each day. It was every man and woman for themselves and the tactics were sometimes downright dirty.

I've always been proud of the fact that I'm trustful of people and believe them to be good unless it's proven otherwise. Some would call that naivety, but I like to think it's a good character trait. As I worked at my last job and dealt with my co-workers in the office and our many clients, I started becoming a bit jaded and a bit cynical. It was a terrible feeling. On top of it all, I was going through a divorce which wasn't really helping me keep my cheerful view of the world around me.

I know that you and [your wife] were put into my life to stop me from becoming the cynic I didn't want to become. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. You've shown me that there still are good, honest people in the world and I'm lucky enough to work for two of them -- two of the best. You genuinely care about people and you let them know that by your actions and your words. That is such a rare quality in today's tumultuous world.

You were joking around the other day about being a mean old man, but at the same time being too much of a softy. You're quite obviously not the former, but I think you're probably right sometimes in the case of the latter. Is that a bad thing, though? I don't think so. I think it shows that you want to believe the best in people as well and I think it's an admirable quality. (And not just because it happens to be one of my qualities. :-)) It would be terrible to let those few people that are completely self-absorbed shape the way you look at the world. Stay the great man that you are.

So, even though you might not have wanted a big celebration for your birthday, all of your employees who feel like part of your family want to let you know just how incredibly important you are to each and every one of us. How you've made us feel important and cared for in a world where that doesn't happen enough. And, most importantly, how blessed each one of us is to have you in our lives.

Thank you for being you.

I hope he knows that I'm going to be working for him the rest of my life.

*Not the real name of the company because I'm not stupid.