As I have talked about previously I work for a construction company. I arrange trucking and materials for all our jobs, and I manage the flow of trucks daily. For the most part we have the same drivers, every day.
In the morning when I arrive there is a parade of trucks waiting for me in the drive way. The same two are always in the lead, they have probably been there for about an hour before me. Last weekend, sadly one of them passed away. I have been doing this job for thirteen years, and in that time you get to know people. I want to first say this gentleman was a mennonite, he was dedicated to his church, his family and his job. He was humble and caring, and in the 13 years that I had the pleasure of working with him, he never said a bad word about anyone. He had an optomistic personality that could help change a bad day just with his cheerful attitude. He also shared some of his life, his children, his grandchildren, projects his church was working on, the fabulous meals his wife would prepare. I think, we as people, often disregard what we don't know about. Our ignorance breeds prejudice and racism. I learned a new respect for this community. There were aspects of their lives that I would wish for myself. The sense of community, helping each other in times of need, the positivity, their creativity was evident in every word he spoke. I couldn't understand why their wives did not use a hospital when giving birth, they almost always have a home birth. However, after he enlightened me about their customs I was enthralled at the way they care for their women. A midwife delivers the baby at home in their comfortable setting, and then after, for approximately three weeks, other women in the community come and care for the family and the baby allowing the new mother a time to rest and recover. Since the demands of her life are taken care of this allows her to bond with her new baby, get lots of rest, and not worry about the little things. I am so glad he shared some insight into his customs and community, it gave me a new perspective and respect for them.
Compared to my last experience of having a baby at 6:30 pm and being signed out at 9am the next morning, their practises seem much more humane. I actually talked the doctor into letting me stay for an extra day, I had two little ones at home and no help. I couldn't even imagine going home that day, with all the demands, and staying sane. My mother, even though she just lived a few blocks away wouldn't come and give me a hand, my husband had to work, Christmas was just 3 days away, and honestly I just felt really overwhelmed.
Yesterday was such a challenging day. The truck belonging to the driver I mentioned was loaded when he passed, and I had a conversation with his son earlier in the week about him bringing it in to unload, he really wanted to do this, take the truck for its final destination. I was touched by this, and told him to take his time and do it when he was ready, there was no rush. About eleven o'clock I saw the truck coming down the drive way, and I was having hard time keeping my emotions in check. They stopped at the scales and came in to get directions. Now I just have to say here I have never met nicer young men in my life, their manners were impeccable, and I could see how hard this was for them. John's son had his son with him and also his Dad's brother. The family resemblance was striking. We talked about his Dad and he expressed an interest in seeing the new asphalt plant his dad was always talking about. I issued them hard hats and sent them on their way. I watched that truck unload and cried a little, it just seemed so sad. I called back to the plant to let them know of their arrival. When he was leaving, he again stopped at my office to return the hats, he was crying as he said thank you, I was crying , it was so touching, His son was about ten years old, and I gave him the hat to keep to remember his grandpa. There were few words exchanged as the tears were getting in the way.
It took me a little time to pull myself together, but I managed finally, and then my mother called, they had returned from a trip to the cancer clinic in Hamilton, and finally had a diagnosis for my step father. He has Leukemia, as I was on the phone with her I was trying to keep it together because she didn't need my grief to deal with I am sure she had enough of her own. When I hung up the phone it just poured out, I am sure anyone that witnessed this thinks I am emotionally unstable, but seriously I just don't care. As i was driving home I called our eldest daughter to tell her the news, and she told me some too. Our grandson Ethan who is five seems to be going blind in one eye. They believe he has a disease that produces tumours on the nerves throughout the body, surgery can remove them, but there is no cure. We are awaiting additional testing and specialist appointments to get a complete diagnosis. We are a family that has never known illness, we are hearty, healthy people. All of this just seems very overwhelming right now.
I am looking forward to brighter days ahead, courage to face whatever we must, strength to help those that need it, and a positive outlook no matter how bad things look right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment