What a bizarre day. Number one I was once again a selling boss. Number two the past came a calling too. It was slow but the peeps just seem to love me. The most expensive bedroom set we have is selling for $1199 and a great deal. Nice queen size cherry four post bed with an iron work head board. The dresser was beautiful, ten felt lined drawers and a huge mirror with iron work above it as as well. It was originally over $2200. A guy came in and looked at it and I told him I could bring it down to $1068. He asked if I could hold it for two hours and I gave him three. Sometimes people are serious and sometimes you never see them again.
Two hours later he came back in with his dad. I'll be darned! His dad looked really familiar and asked where I knew him from ? He said he had been in the store before but I knew that wasn't it. I asked what his first name was and then it hit me when he said "Raybun." You don't meet too many people named Raybun. When my kids were younger I did a three year stint as a "Lunch lady" at the elementary school they attended. It was one of the hardest jobs I've ever had. It's not much fun scrubbing pizza pans for over six hundred kids and once a month you had to work in the dish pit for a week. We didn't employ a dishwasher so the 'lunch ladies' took turns. This was about fifteen years ago and most all the women I worked with were in their fifties and sixties. Some had done this for thirty plus years. They were all southern small town women who would announce every morning as we began to serve the first class, "Here comes the Kinnygarden, y'all git ready." This father who had come back with his son to the furniture store was married to the woman who ran the lunch room. I had heard she recently passed away and stepped forward and immediately hugged his neck, saying "You're Harriett's husband!" He accepted my hug and returned it as his son stood by looking dumbfounded. I told him how sorry I was to hear about her passing and was working so I couldn't go to her service. She was diagnosed with cancer around March was gone by June. Being a somewhat expert in the "losing your parents" club told him I was glad God took her pretty quickly. As the son still stood by with his mouth open thinking "WTH?' I launched into about how I was a lunch lady and how I had worn Harriet out.
I've always been kind of a rebel and my lunch lady gig was no different. When the kids would come through the line turning their noses up at the lima beans I would tell them we had put secret prizes in some of them. They snatched them up like crazy! The one week a month I had to wok the dish pit, sometimes I would put in my Bubba Teeth to take the trays from the kids as they stacked them in my window. The kids loved me and I loved them. The free eating wasn't bad either. I ate from the time I clocked in til the time I left. The fish sticks were pretty stinking good, tater tots were yummy and the fried chicken was awesome. Around Thanksgiving they had a spread. Ham, turkey, dressing and gravy, green beans and pear salad. They baked cookies and made cakes and the yeast rolls were my favorite.
I told Raybun his wife had been a pretty great cook and mentioned I may be skinny but I like to eat. One day in the kitchen at the school I was eating a yummy broccoli and raisin salad and commented to Harriet how good it was. Her dry reply was "Kelly, I could boil sh*t and you'd eat it."
I told her husband that story and he chuckled.
It's really hard to go from someone you love being perfectly okay then lose them a matter of weeks but assured Raybun she was lucky and a lot better off now. The only one's it sucked for were those left behind to mourn but in a few years, maybe even more would understand what a blessing it was for her.
I told both father and son I had lost my momma in the span of thirty seconds and my diddy in ten days and although both deaths devastated me, years later realized what a blessing it was for them.Go quickly and gain your much deserved reward. The son cocked his head and said it was rough on them but I might be right, they wouldn't have wanted her to suffer.
Another blast from the past came into the store, a woman I grew up with in East Point Christian Church. I haven't seen her since probably 1978 but she popped into the store to see me. She reads my blog and just came by to say hello. We sat on a couch and chatted for thirty minutes, catching up and commiserating about life in general.
Then another hour went by and the past walked in the door again and blew me off my feet. It was the Rat Bast general manager who fired me from the Western Sizzler (I still refuse to name the real place) I worked at for fourteen years. He fired me over a cup of ice cream I gave Massey for free. He fired me knowing my husband was out of work and I was supporting my entire family. I had to file unemployment, fight it when they initially declined to pay, I had to apply for food stamps and put my kids on Peach Care insurance. It was the most humiliating experience I ever went through but I did it.
I used to think about what I would do if I ever saw him again.This will sound even crazier but the night before I had a dream about him. I was at some gathering of friends (dreams are freaky like that) and he walked in. In the dream I immediately got up and left the room to avoid him...Now he was standing in front of me in real life.
I did the same thing to him he did to me four years ago, I turned my back on him.
The other salesman worked with him and I totally avoided him, wanting secretly to strangle his neck and watch his tiny feet dangle in the air like my whole family dangled for three years trying to recover. Can you tell I read the Game of Thrones series?
I'm twenty pounds lighter now but still have the same loud voice and made sure to use it as I helped another customer. I am sure he saw me, if not he heard me. I just wanted to punch him in the face.
What's even better is that corporate fired him over something even more stupid than a cup of ice cream three years down the road. Icing on the cake, his marriage fell apart (I shouldn't say that but karma is a big fat bee-otch). Of course he didn't have three kids to take care of and made out a lot better than me but at least he got fired...and that's never a good feeling.
It was the best week I have ever had at the furniture gig. I sweated like a hoss but sold like boss. A couple of sales fell through but still did excellent.
Worked today at the restaurant where the peeps love me too. Left work and swung by the furniture gig to purchase an area rug for Massey's dorm room. I'm not sure why she needs one but actually I had one in my dorm room my Mema gave me and it does make it all nice and comfy. It retailed for $199 and I got it for $25. It's a six by eight tan shag rug. While I was there I stopped by the sod pile where the landscaper from Academy Sports had piled up all my sod. There were ten or twelve pieces left, kinda beginning to brown put taking root so I knew they were still good. Threw them into the back of the station wagon and drove home. Patched up the last bare spot in my front yard and prayed for rain.
Got the rain, unfortunately it was when I was walking out of the grocery store. Came home soaked but satisfied. I got my boss at the restaurant to shave me some rib eye steaks and made some awesome cheese steaks.
I am off tomorrow, I live for my Monday's! Cutting the back yard, cleaning the house and watching General Hospital. Okay GH fans, I know it's a soap but they are bringing back the same characters but as a different person. What the hay?
I have made it this far which seems incredible to me and plan to go much further.
Sometimes you have to thank your lucky stars, thank the peeps who help you and strive to pay it forward.
Calling the vet again tomorrow about my Ham. Hoping for good news.
I don't lead a luxurious life but it's a great life. It could be whole lot worse. Counting blessings and hopefully waking up tomorrow to do it all again.
Til next time...COTTON
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