Hi everyone,
I feel pulled back to blogging and the initial pull was to tell you about two people that epitomize the fact that we are human beings and not human doings! Our culture gets so caught up and we are rewarded for what we DO - the mostly left brain activities, versus who we are but we all know people that make us feel like a million bucks, right - regardless of what the heck they DO.
Rita Ambrozic
My first example is one of my former colleagues from Westinghouse days, Rita Ambrozic. Rita was at one point my admin assistant but she was always my friend. This woman was amazing! She bent over backwards to help you. You mentioned to her that you had a dentist appointment scheduled and she would be running down to HR to get you the medical form. She would try to clean out my coffee cup at the end of the day but I would have to grab it from her and slap her hand and tell her that WAS NOT her job. She took the opposite attitude of "that's not my job!" She took on activities way beyond her job description. She was one of the friendliest, warm and caring persons that I know.
Rita passed away about a month ago and the outpouring of friends and family was indicative of who she was. You felt like you were her most favorite person in the whole world when you talked to her because that is how she made you feel. She fought a brave battle against leukemia and I know is in a better place and not in any pain. After she passed away, I sent out a request to her and said, "Rita, you need to leave me a sign that you are fine and happy." My mother had left me a hilarious sign (another posting) so I thought it was the least that Rita could do. I was on the phone with my daughter, Elyse, who is a senior at PSU, and was telling her about Rita's passing. She said, "Mom, you are not going to believe this but I am at Rita's right now having a Rasberry Italian ice - creepy!" I said "It's not creepy at all!!!!! that is my sign!!!!!!!!"
Rita, you are missed by many and I'm sure your family misses you the most. Love you Reeeet!
Angie Bucco
Angie is someone that I recently met. She is a seamstress that lives in Mt. Lebanon and to whom I was referred by a friend. I love to sew and can do it but it's a catch 22 for me. I buy something that is too long (that is always my scenario) and I say to myself, "I can hem those!" Big mistake - because I don't have TIME to do it so the "to mend" pile kept getting higher and higher so I did what any focused, well run corporation would do - I outsourced it :)
Angie runs her business in the gameroom of her home and the minute I get there, I feel like I am in my Grandma Menanno's house. She has 3 sewing machines that look like the kind my Grandmother used where you push this huge petal to make it run (pre-electric models). Angie is Italian and from the same region - Abruzzi - as my grandparents! She even has a picture of Abruzzi on the wall so we examine it and she shows me the exact town from where she and her husband, Tom, emigrated. She tells me about how they just finished canning tomatoes and I can't help but smile because one of the fondest memories is visiting my grandparent's in August and the entire basement floor is covered with tomatoes all in lines categorized for ripeness and size. My grandmother is yelling at my Grandfather for growing so many and now she has to can them all! Angie said, "Oh, yeah, it's a lot of work!"
I try on the pants that she is altering for me and as she does her magic with the pins, we have a great time chatting. Angie is a great conversationalist. She asks me about my kids, my family and I ask her all about hers. We are having a grand time and I am enjoying her company so much. I had been trying to fit in an appointment with her (between all my "doing" activities) viewing it more as a chore than anything but I was so enriched by the experience. She gives me a hug as I leave and I am in such a great mood and thought - Wow, she is another example of "It's not what you do, it's what you are!"
Anyhoo, tell me who fits this category for you!
Here's to being a human being,
Kim
