Today is a good day so far. After several days of chronic exhaustion, emotional dullness, and kids fighting illnesses I needed a good day!
I received a call last Thursday asking me to come in for an interview at a state run facility. It is a good distance from the house, a reliable position, and has the opportunity to turn into a full time placement after the probationary period. Additionally it is in my wheelhouse: administrative assistant and customer service associate. The interview was set up for today first thing…. 8am. I’m not usually functional before 9am lately, so I was anticipating a bit of a wake up challenge.
To my surprise I did not have an issue getting moving this morning. Got ready, put on my most adult looking clothing, and set my attitude to “pretend to be an adult”. I even put on mascara and lipstick! Whoa! That rarely happens. I made my coffee and went running out the door.
About 10 miles into my adventure I realized my coffee didn’t make it out the door. CRAP! I hadn’t planned on enough time for a stop, but I stopped at a tiny country store regardless. Coffee, for me, is essential for functionality in the early morning. I picked up some horrible swamp water coffee, and a pack of gum. While in the store waiting to pay an adorable older man with a cane tapped on my shoulder. He was wearing overalls, a flannel shirt, muck boots, and a cammo baseball cap. He said:
Well now, aren’t you diamond shiny today?
I don’t accessorize now that I don’t wear my wedding ring, and my clothing is very adult administrative assistant boring. I assumed that may just mean I’m looking ok today. So, I thanked him somewhat confused, paid and went on my way.
I arrived at my interview 20 minutes early. Upon checking in I realized that the receptionist for the HR department was an interesting character! An older lady, but just looking at her you know that age is nothing more than a number to her. She donned a gold hat, with gold sequins and a HUGE gold rose off to the side. A real-life Kentucky Derby type hat. Under the hat was a fabulous lavender wig, curled perfectly to frame her face. Her gold rimmed glasses had slid down her nose. Her white jacket showed off 13 decorative pins she referred to as her “spirit of thanks”. Every single finger on both hands wore sparkly rings. I commented on her hat, stating that I always wished I looked better in hats. She didn’t miss a step:
You should just wear what you like. Forget the social pressures to fit into a round hole. If you are a star, I’m a star, you don’t belong in a round hole. You need to stand out, you need to embrace being a star.
I smiled and told her she was absolutely amazing. She giggled.
You are a star honey. I see it. Go be a star. You don’t listen to anybody who tells you to be anything else. They don’t know jack squat about stars!
Right then and there I responded with:
I absolutely LOVE you! You keep finding the stars out here.
I wish everybody reading could have seen the way she beamed an amazing smile right back at me. She told me I’d do just fine in my interview and to “keep the love in your soul”. She said souls full of love are found in the sparkle of people’s eyes; not in the smile they wear. That smiles can sometimes lie.
I sat on a chair in the waiting room and watched her interact with every single staff member that passed by her desk. I watched as she set up bowls with gum, cough drops, candy, and cookies across her desk. She offered a “sweet” to everybody that walked passed her. It was amazing…. Every single staff member spoke to her. Even the ones obviously in a hurry. She is one of those rare individuals that everybody can’t help but love. She’s genuine, and she believes every word she says. The respect her co-workers have for her is apparent.
She was correct. I had a good interview. I have more than enough experience to perform this job well. I have the confidence in my ability to train in the only area of weakness I had…. Not having previous experience with their specific software. I thank her for setting me up to succeed today! For spreading the love with everybody in her world. Now I wait to see if I’m the best fit or not.
Either way, I’ll always remember the star that welcomed me into her world today. May she always be fabulous.
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