Big Pop Wednesday
An Ode to Unexpected Friendship
A while ago, I wrote about tradeoffs — the things we sacrifice, and the benefits (however small) that we get in return. I’m now going to quote myself, which is a weird sensation:
May of 2008: the day after my 3rd Mother’s Day, I started a job at a collections agency. The job was in the suburbs, near my husband’s work, but our hours were different so we could not share the 45 minute commute. The job was miserable, and our daughter was in daycare for 10 hours a day. Benefit: With a steady paycheck from me, we took a deep breath for the first time in many months.
October of 2009: my son had arrived the previous July, and I switched departments at work. After the 8 weeks of maternity leave, our little baby joined his sister for long daycare days. Thank goodness for Brooke, who was really a second mom (or at least an aunt!) to our kids. Benefit: I met a couple of fantastic women in my new position at the collections agency, and they made work bearable.
As I stated above, I started work as a Client Service Representative in October of 2009. Compared to my previous position in Collections Correspondence, the employees seemed much younger and cooler and like they already had a rapport. Needless to say, I was intimidated. Luckily, we were coming up on Halloween and I was included in the department decision to all wear Minnesota Vikings jerseys for the company costume contest. I hauled out my Randy Moss jersey, and when I arrived at work, some employees were handing out extra jerseys to those who didn’t own one. Unfortunately, one of the lenders was also a cat-owner… and one of the borrowers was intensely allergic. The scene that followed was short but chaotic, with the borrower waving her arms as her eyes swelled and tears streamed down her face, and the lender frantically tried to get her to, “TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF!” It was more excitement than I had experienced in the 15 months I was in Correspondence, I can tell you.
I started my training with a woman named Sally, who had a gentle Texas accent and who was unfailingly upbeat and encouraging. We got to be friendly, and soon she began joining me on my lunch walks around the neighborhood (if we hurried, we could get all the way around the block in 20 minutes and still get to use the bathroom before lunch was over!) Sally and I exchanged a lot of information in those chatty power walks, and soon we were good friends.
Not long after I started walking with Sally, I spent a week training for a new client with the woman who borrowed the furry cat jersey. I say “woman,” but in my head I was calling her Teen Mom. She looked like she was about 22, and I found out in my week of training that she had a son who was just a year younger than my daughter. Joanna (for that was Teen Mom’s name) was smart and silly, and actually a year older than I. We ended up setting up a playdate at a local pirate-themed park, and it didn’t take any time at all for our kids to become besties. As my son began to speak, he dubbed her “Jonanna,” which was a relief because “Teen Mom” really isn’t a great nickname.
Eventually, it was clear that the three of us were each others’ bright spots in a sometimes dismal work environment. We sweet-talked our supervisor into allowing us to take our 15-minute break at the same time every day, and hijinks ensued. We were one of the teams who were allowed up on the executive balcony to plant flowers and greenery in a planter. I believe it may have been a contest — our workplace was convinced that contests = employee happiness — and it almost came to a tragic end as a giant yellow jacket ATTACKED the three of us one day during our watering time. To this day, Sally and Joanna swear I saved them from certain death as I took off my sandal and pulverized the poor insect.
Our mutual breaks became grander: I began buying a pop from the machine on Wednesday breaks (Dan and I were just squeaking by at that time, and a bottle of pop was a decent extravagance) and dubbing it Big Pop Wednesday. We decided that Fridays should be RBF — “Romantic Break Friday” — and we would make an effort to concoct stunning outfits for each other (but with jeans. Because Fridays.) We all dressed up for the next year’s Halloween Costume Contest, and even though I was the eventual winner (YOU KNOW IT) I feel that we all really brought our A game.
We became very close, very fast. We hung out a lot outside of work as well — lots of live music and Women’s Weekends and Cards Against Humanity — but the year and a half when we all worked together was special. I honestly didn’t think I would ever find anything joyful or positive in that company, and instead I found lifelong friends. How amazing is that?
The moral of the story? Never underestimate the ramifications of a Halloween Costume Contest.
Thanks for reading.
Love, Susie
