The Circle of Work

It was early December, on a chilly Saturday when my friend Kate turned around in her spinny chair frustrated. Before I could ask what was wrong she told me that one of her other friends said, she wouldn’t watch her apartment for a week while she went to go visit her sister in California. She hadn’t seen her sister in almost a year and was in desperate need of a vacation due to working almost

I blurted out without thinking “Why not let my mom and I watch the apartment?” Kate took a minute to process this thought and I walked away while I let her think things over. This would be a huge help to her but also a huge responsibility for my mom and me to take on. I was just hoping that maybe my mom would be willing to do this now that I threw her into the deal with myself.

Several groups of customers wandered in and out of the store asking for help before I could return to my chair to ask Kate what she thought of my proposal. We agreed that it may be best if I do it since I live so close to the barn and because both my mother and I know all the horses and how to handle most situations that could have popped up.

Fast forward about a month and a half and we were waving each other our goodbyes and good lucks as Kate and her husband Kyle left for California to see her sister. So began the week-long adventure of stepping into the shoes of being the barn manager. It wasn’t too bad considering I already unofficially carry the role of assistant barn manager.

It was a pretty uneventful week minus a few fun nights where I had a couple of the barn girls spend the night and we chatted the nights away only to drag our exhausted selves through work. Totally worth it though, it was quite fun honestly. Kate returned home missing the warmth and sunshine of California and missing seeing her sister.

A week later, however, I was told my mom and sister that we would be going to Florida for my brother-in-law’s grandparents 60th anniversary. And I was going to be there as an extra hand and caregiver to my nephew who won’t even be two months old at the time of the trip. After although, it’s only fair he meets the man he was named after. My first thought after being excited jumped to how I was going to cover my work shifts, all I could think of was asking Kate if she could cover my Monday and my Sunday shifts, and also ride my horse, a couple times while I was gone.

Kate said yes without much thought, considering getting to work at the barn only requires her walking down a flight of stairs and out the door. It’s a little funny how things swung around to come full circle in such a way. The circle only goes on though as next spring Kate has already asked me to watch her apartment again for her sister’s wedding!

Photo on Foter.com