Two Week Notice

There I was Monday morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with my two week notice in hand, when the phone rang.  It was my manager calling me for the third time.  She had heard that I was giving my notice before I even reached the building door that day.  The cat was out of the bag...meeeooow. 

The week before I took an unconventional route in quitting my job and sat down with my 6 coworkers first and informed them of the event to come.   It was going to affect them the most and I wanted to make it clear I made all attempts to take a leave of absence in lieu of my resignation.  We were already short-staffed and the work load was unbearable as it was - hence why I was able to stock-pile on my overtime #cha-ching  After barely getting through my spill and fighting the tears, I looked up and didn't expect the reaction I got.   They all truly and honestly cared.  And here I thought my co-workers secretly hated me and images of confetti, yodeling in celebration of my leave and them carrying me out of the building to throw me on my ass, was how I imaged this was all going to go down. But I was left with concerned eyes gazing upon me.  But what happens next is where the story begins....

"Hello?"  My manager, "Hi Geri, I heard you were giving your notice and wanted to ask if you could wait until I looked into a few things?"  Me, " of course. I will talk to you when I get there."  After hanging up the phone, I was shocked.  Heretofore, I had it set in my mind for months that I was quitting my job with no hope of saving it. I  promised myself I wasn't getting my hopes up.  Is this what I really wanted anyway..... Because my mind was still planning things well past Europe.  I was going to keep going until my funds ran out or I was kidnapped and sold into slave trade.

I got into work that day and a swirling vortex of rumors had begun. Over the weekend another supervisor had sent an email out to the rest of management supporting me in my leave of absence and not wanting me to resign  My co-workers voice their concerns and backed me up 100%. The Medical Director swooped me into his office and told me he was going to do what he could to save my job. And in the same breath he picked up the phone to HR and demanded they give me a leave of absence.  It was one of the most overwhelmingly acts of kindness  I have ever experienced.  This wasn't what I expected at all.  I was waiting for the printed T-Shirts to be passed around that said "Save Geri's Job" and a small little picket line in the lunch room. #overdoing it.    I guess after 7 years, you grow on people.  You never know how your co-workers really feel about you until you put in your notice.

As it sits today, my request is pending in HR and goes in front of a review board.  Regardless of the outcome, nothing is going to stop me from following a life long dream.  Not even you XYZ Job