Let's have a look at this week:
It's easy to say that Monday and Tuesday were a wash since Lucy and we're driving back from Maryland, but:
The drive back from Maryland was some quality alone time with Lucy. There were stretches of miles where Lucy and I talked and caught up on things.
We needed this long drive to process leaving Marcos at college, a thousand miles away.
I'd joke that Maryland was just around the corner. It's not. I underestimated driving to and from Maryland a lot; we're talking Columbus-like miscalculations. The drive up there was hard, but at least we had three drivers.
Driving back, we're only down to two. And we had a deadline to be back in Texas.
And we did it together as a team.
If you're going to pick a partner, pick one that can sleep in Denny's parking lot just outside Nashville, Tennessee.
Wednesday was getting back into the swing of things, but hindsight being twenty/twenty, I could've prepared better for Thursday. Well, I did prepare, but not enough.
Now onto the elephant in the room: Thursday.
I was expecting everything under the sun except for being let go.
I wish I could say that Thursday's happening was an isolated incident in my professional life, but it's not. I've been through something like this before a long time ago.
The half-hour that preceded my fateful meeting had become par for the course in recent months.
Was I surprised by what happened? Yes.
Was I shocked? Not really.
I think that's why I reacted so well. When the hammer finally came down, I said, "Okay, well, thank you," and walked out.
There was so much I could say, could've said, but it wouldn't have improved the situation.
I walked out with one of my direct reports, who had just quit due to that morning's happening. He showed me his trembling hand when we walked out of the building. He was rattled. And with good reason.
My hands weren't shaking. I was eerily calm.
Remember Murray, Jeff Goldblooms' friend and coworker in the movie Independence Day. He's stuck in New York traffic when the aliens unleash their firepower. And he resigns himself as this big ball of flames rushes towards him.
Yeah, that was Thursday.
Of course, when I tell people the story, most people's reaction is the same, "yeah, you didn't deserve that." And I know most people will change their wording to either be the victim or hero in their story.
I want to say, of all the stories I tell about my life, on Thursday, I gave 'to 'em straight. These are the facts; this is what happened.
I did this intentionally because you're always unsure if you could've played the hand you were dealt differently.
By all accounts, I played my hand as well as I could, and then someone flipped the table, and well, there's no accounting for that.
I contacted some old coworkers and friends. The outpouring of support has been extraordinary. I've got a great network of people willing to help me out. Thank God.
Plus, I got a few folks reaching out to me on LinkedIn, so that's a relief.
This week I need to update my resume and work on a marketing plan for a friend.
I need to start cultivating new habits. The first one is adopting a new eating lifestyle.
I must keep up with my writing and take this opportunity to start cultivating the creative habits I want in my life.