A two hour party full of people, songs, food, dessert and a 10 minute acknowledgement for 40 years of work in the company. I have never felt so many mixed emotions at an event that doesn't really involve me. I am an external consultant to this company but I genuinely am very fond of this old man named Dennis.
As he handed over his digital camera to me to click and keep forever his treasure of acknowledgement, camaraderie, belonging, warm smiles, tears brimming, I was so touched. I wanted to make sure I got it all right for him.
I : Dennis, I have clicked 100s of pictures. You will have a hard time sorting these.
He : Don't worry girl, I have a lot of time now. No more Sunday evenings to worry about.
His face was all red, his blue eyes lacked a sparkle as he sat with his head bent down, listening to his manager speak fondly of him to the audience. There were more retirees, passing warm comments on each other, the times when they came into office as young 19 years olds, looking no less than a Mil Gibson, they joked about days when "his hair were still blond", " She looked all dolled up", as they warmly hugged and shook hands.
19 to 60 years... a journey through life .... with people who are not your family but have seen you grow from young adults to wise old men with white beards and beer bellies, in your best and worst show off moments. Whom you have helped, talked about your newborn to his newborn, and I was choked with emotions, realisations, warm feelings and a realisation that my day will be here soon and I would be reflecting about life like this and that everything that runs through me today, will look so trivial 30 years down the line.
Life runs by very fast. Like Dennis told me, " It is still one minute at a time, and a minute is as long as it is, but then you look and suddenly so many minutes underway, while you were busy in daily stuff. Partying, working, seeing you kids grow up, between basketball games, swimming lessons and baseball. And suddenly you are old... so fast. It looks like yesterday."
And I look at his happy old man, looking forward to a new season fishing , hunting, braiing, taking his grand kids out for an afternoon, and I am filled with so many emotions.
- - A life well lived
- - A family lovingly built
- - A lifetime that goes away in a snap
- - Your little investment on the way
- - And you are then suddenly not there
Life is so quantifiable in so many ways. And more than anything else, its the people that touched it in your journey, that shape it.
I am very emotional.
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