I sense a disturbance in the force

Strange happenings at work. Someone in management actually listened to me. Even stranger, he seemed to care. As did someone in HR.

I get to go to Burning Man. I get to take two weeks off, one week to drive up with Ken and help set up this camp we've been working on since we got home last year and one week for Burning Man. I was given the third week off too, but I offered to fly home on Labor Day and be there for go-live on Tuesday. He said I was generous to offer that. Get that? He said I was generous. Someone in my chain of command said something nice about me.

This particular shirt was once a supervisor of mine. Back in the giddy days. He would give us our marching orders and pretty much leave us alone to decide how to march and whether or not we took hostages. Anyway, now he's my "Acting Manager." So, since he'd been out of my loop for several years he let me fill him in on how its been going. We had an HR witness in the room. Thankfully she is the one that has been so helpful to me through all this crazy business.

So, I filled him in. At times I couldn't keep my eyes open. I just couldn't talk about these hurtful things and look at him. HR would remind me to breathe every now and then. Sometimes all I could do was whisper, but I got through it. Then he started gently asking questions. He is a soft spoken kind hearted man and I trusted him with my hurts.

HR told me that she is dedicated to helping me get into a job that is rewarding and challenging for me. My manager told me that he knows who I am. He knows what I am capable of. He knows what I can do. He told me that he is dedicated to helping me become me again. That he saw sparks of me in there, but he really wanted me to come back fully. And he hoped I would stay at the company because I am important.

And that is how we left it.

I came home completely drained. I would have thought I'd be exhilirated, but all I wanted to do was curl up on Ken's lap and sleep.

I lay in bed this morning while Ken made coffee. He's taken to being nude man in the morning. There is no danger of Sarah or Lillian being up THAT early. I listened to the sound of his feet, his curses as he stubbed his toe on that damn stool that has been in that same location stubbing his toe for four years now.

We made lunch, pattering around the island, getting this or that. Peaches or berries or both? One banana or two? We have peppered turkey or salsa turkey. No, only 12 grain bread. Hey, throw a couple of those EmergenC's in there would you?

Our shower was devine. We are nearing the end of this bar of soap. Next in line is a bar of Honey soap from Pure Life Soap.

I headed off to work for the first time without knots in my stomach.

I am healing.