everyday is a journey.
In love, if love be love, if love be ours,
Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers:
Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all.
It is the little rift within the lute
That by and by will make the music mute,
And ever widening slowly silence all.
The little rift within the lover's lute,
Or little pitted speck in garner'd fruit,
That rotting inward slowly molders all.
It is not worth the keeping: let it g
But shall it? Answer, darling, answer no.
And trust me not at all or all in all.
--Alfred Tennyson.
We are a week away from my old company being no more. As of November 1, Avon Morton Grove will no longer exist. All weekend long, I have been seeing my co-workers posting on social media (especially the younger ones) how sorry they are to see it go. They are being nostalgic since the majority of them have spent all their working life here at Avon.
I read on with mixed emotions. Since the Summer and all the changes that really only involve the senior associates, I have been feeling a bit unappreciated by them. I can understand the youngsters feeling of sadness. Many of them have married and had children while working here, but they are still not old enough to understand the implications of what has happened to the rest of us. It could also happen to them when they are our age.
When I first started, 23 years ago, the seniors then were retiring in glory. They had a dinner for them, a bonus check of X amount of money plus their years. Normally, it added up to three months of pay. They received a portrait and a cake of their choosing, along with a full payout pension, insurance and their 401K. Almost everyone that was retiring, the last two years of their time was spent working overtime to up their gross income. The larger the income, the larger the pension payout.
That is no longer true. We are the last of the pension associates. There is no more any insurance, dinner, bonus check. I'm not sure about the portrait or cake, but then, why do I need a picture of myself? They can keep that! At least, they have their pension and 401k. Things have certainly changed and I am almost sure it will change for the youngsters when they are retiring. Would they still be posting nostalgic reviews of their Company? I doubt it.
It's like a lot of things in life, when it doesn't really touch you or disturb your lifestyle, it's a different reaction. Most of the time, a good one. Believe it or not, I am ready for a new beginning with Fareva. I normally do not hold onto the past, I embrace the future. I can't see the future in my mind right now, but it will change eventually as I process all the things around me.
I do realize that we needed to be bought out, because a drastic change needed to happen. We were in such a bad state that we could have closed and been out of a job. Drastic measures were called for and I am glad Fareva bought us. A new beginning, whether a good one, we are not sure yet. It has to be, because the only other option would have been the unemployment line.
There's a good thing that came out of this, I can move whatever money I have into something else. By doing that, I am free to leave the Company anytime I want. It is no longer about the pension money holding me back. I have now freedom to leave on my own accord, my own terms.
As I see the personnel dismantling the pictures off the walls and anything Avon, I thought I would be feeling sad. The truth is I am encouraged and excited about the future and where it will bring me. I am no longer disillusioned by large Companies. To them, everything is connected to making money. They do not care about you or me. All they care about is how much money they can save so their bonus check will be bigger than last year. Does that sound bitter? Maybe, but it is the truth.
Have a blessed day everyone.
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