We no longer need your services.

Bruno has had a tough week. It started with pain in his back that prevented him from doing even one step. He could walk just fine but going up steps was next to impossible. The strange part was that he could go down them. Doing his business outside presented a problem at 2am one night. He just couldn’t manage the two small steps. I had to put my coat on over my PJs and find something in the garage that would make a ramp. It took 30 minutes to get him inside and he was exhausted. So was I. But today he’s back to himself and we took a long walk on River Drive. It’s a great little neighborhood and he loves all the different smells. Right now Bruno is having his after breakfast nap on the couch.

Thursday night I received a call from a dear friend who had just been fired. “We no longer need your services,” they told her. There had been a few bumps in the road but from my perspective, nothing that would cause the organization to ask her to resign and when she refused, fire her. That’s from my perspective. I’m not sure anyone shares all the gory details about work even with close friends. It just isn’t done.

Laura cried. My heart sank because I knew very well what she was feeling and what she was going to feel over the course of this. It was why she called me and not her parents first. She was driving home and I asked her if she felt OK to drive; she could call me after getting out of her car. She said that she was OK. I knew she wasn’t but I didn’t want to abandon her. I asked Laura if she had all of the physical pain, too. She did. It's like that first puppy-love break up. It feels like your stomach being tied into a knot. And if you touch your skin, it feels like it has been burned and blistered. Every nerve is standing straight up and it’s strange that even the lightest touch is so very painful. The intense skin and muscle pain only lasts a few hours at most but it can return when you get into the deep sadness, almost depressive stage. The first stage, shock or disbelief, affects your emotions and physical being equally. Once she had gotten the whole story out, she was ready to get off the phone with me and call mom and dad. I was the rehearsal.

I chatted online with Laura early yesterday morning and she had gotten to the numb stage overnight. That’s good. It meant that she wouldn’t be in the grieving stage very long. She had already made plans to move out of her apartment and go back home. Her parents were being very supportive. This was Laura’s first real job out of college and her concern was her pride. She hates the idea of going back home and taking a temp job that her mom could get for her. Laura had had a temp position at her mom’s employer before taking this now defunct opportunity. It helped her pay for college and her master’s degree. I reminded her that they loved her there and she needed to feel wanted and appreciated and to be working. Being part of a contributing community is the one thing you miss most when you’re unemployed. She’s going to think about it.

I got the call from Laura’s firing squad last night. Laura had asked Doc and I to appear as Father Christmas and Mrs. Claus. Now that Laura was no longer with them, I was told, “We no longer need your services.” It was a relatively short conversation but I kept it professional and asked what publicity had been done. None, really, I was told. I explained my concern that their decision to pull the cord would look like our failure to show up. I was assured that that would not happen.

And so, Father Christmas and his wife will appear in Appleton at the Thompson Center’s Breakfast with Santa on December 5th. Hundreds of children and their families get the opportunity to meet with Santa in a private room away from the screams and squeals that the excitement of seeing Santa creates. It lifts my spirit and gives me hope for our future just thinking about it. It’s our fourth year and we wouldn’t miss it for the world. Our services are needed here.