I started at the new store yesterday.
I got up at the crack of dawn.. my commute is almost an hour and a half into downtown cuz I live out in east jabip and the traffic sux. I drop the kid off at the sitters and head to work. Surprising it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being.
I get there at just about 830.. I don't have keys yet so I have to wait a few minutes before my asst mgr(ASM#1) get to the store and lets me in.He gets there we go inside and do typical morning stuff. We run through the refresher of where everything is, and how everything is set up and what not.
So we are each counting out the drawers and he looks up at me.. very non-shalant.. "did you here about ASM#2?"
No what happened.
Her boyfriend was killed in Iraq this weekend.
OH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING?
I wouldn't kid about something like that.
Just like that.... blindsided.
I wrote the beginning of the blog this way to show how your typical normal day can absolutely just turn with just a few short words. My heart sank and almost started crying. I can't even explain the sadness I feel for her or how sad I am. I've been crying on and off for 2 days now.
Nothing at that point we could do seemed enough. We ordered her flowers and got her a card.. but really what can you do but be supportive.
That was yesterday.
Today she came to work... and worked. She said she didn't want to stay home that being in their apartment by herself it would drive her crazy. She talked alot about him, how she had found out from his parents, because since they weren't married they contacted them first. All about how she was going to miss him, how pissed off she was. How they were never going to see Scotland together like they had planned and how she wasn't going to miss when he wiped his boogers on her to annoy her. She hates boogers.lol. They had been together over 2 years and were planning on getting married after he was to come back from Iraq.
There was alot of laughing today, happy memories that she needed and wanted to share. In appropriate jokes about the whole situation as part of the copeing mechanism. I've known her about a year and she is a strong chic.. probably one of the strongest women I know. I had met her man on a few occasions and he was a funny, entertaining, and a very cool dude.
Before we left I asked her if it was ok if I blogged about her.
She said " OK... but make sure you explain how amazing he was when you do it"
I think she just said it best.
3 comments:
I remember losing one of our guys last year in Iraq (875th)...and even though I didn't know him personally, it struck an emotinoal chord deep inside my soul that couldn't help but come out in tears. You're right. Nothing we can do or say seems like enough.
ditto on what ginger said, nothing we can say or do will seem be enough to heal that hurt. It sounds like you were being a nice shoulder for her to lean on and a great ear for her to talk to. Thats probably what she needs a lot of right now.
Tell her that both of them are in my prayers and that he wont be forgotten.
wow.
I keep typing and deleting here. Sometimes Iraq seems really far away and almost okay, but then I shake my self and remember how close and dangerous it really is.
My thoughts and prayers go out to your friend. How heartbreaking.
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