WFH and The Saddest Phone Call in These Foolish Things

We are getting shitty weather again. It came on quicker and stronger than the weatherperson (and even the weather app) predicted. I hate to say it, but I wasn’t prepared either. I’d looked at the hourly weather forecast before I left work last night and saw that we were going to be okay today - that I’d leave a little early if I saw the storm approaching.

Well. It surprised us all by approaching last night and left us with a light coating of ice on the roads this morning. My boss sent a text telling me to work from home if I could and I was like, um. I have to go in to get my laptop…

The office is a good 30 minute drive on a good day. Each way.

So I spent the better part of two hours this morning driving slowly into the office, picking up my laptop and some documents and then turning around and heading straight back home.

LUCKILY, I took side streets and the roads were not yet completely iced over. That is all changing right now as the sleet will likely fall until the middle of the day tomorrow. It’s not getting above freezing for days.

I barely made it!

You should see all of the cars spinning out and crashing on the highways. So glad I was able to get in and out unscathed. Now I have a bajillion things to get done.

Had a presentation with a buyer a while ago that went really well, so there’s that. Still doesn’t help me tear down my line and then re-create it in the next day. Ugh. Sucks.

Do you want to hear about the saddest phone call I’ve ever had?

I was talking with my mom last night on our nightly call and I could hear in the background that my dad wanted to tell me about their dinner.

A little backstory: about 10 or 15 years ago, my parents started to do a weekly dinner with some couple friends of theirs. There were three couples (including my mom and dad). Sometimes they’d have guest appearances (I attended a couple of the dinners, and other folks did too from time to time), but they had this standing Tuesday night dinner for years and years and they’d become such great friends, these couples. They were from all different backgrounds and from all over the country and they all just loved each other like family.

Well, last night, mom and dad decided to go to one of the places they used to go with these couples - just the two of them. And at this particular restaurant, my mom and dad used to order a special dish a certain way…and just like old times, they decided to order their special dish with their special request. And the waitress put their order in.

Later, the cook came out and said that she remembered my mom and dad from their special order and also remembered that they used to come in with all of their friends. So she asked where the friends were…

And right then, in the middle of the story, my dad just broke down in these huge, heavy sobs and just said he couldn’t talk any more and handed the phone back to my mom.

It’s because all of their friends have passed away.

Oh, my broken heart! I just ache so badly for my precious dad (and mom, of course, but my dad has just turned into this emotional softy lately and I just feel such heartbreak sometimes).

I wish I knew how to comfort him.

OK. I need to get some work done.

Heartbroken,
GS