A Quick Word About My Boss

I know, I know, we've all heard about the girl who lost her job because of her blogging about work. I've seen her site (here), and it's actually very funny. Anyway, this post is in reverence of the man I call my boss, although he's technically not my boss, but I've never met my technical boss and I'm frankly kind of scared of that guy (and no fear of getting "dooced" for that one, because from the little I know of him, he'd love to know that I was scared... Like dogs and bees, he can smell it anyway, all the way from the east coast.).

As I've written before, my boss's mother had BPD, and his eldest son has it as well. My boss, however, does not. Instead, he has the most amazing ability to calm people down, is cheerful and even keeled (is that how that is spelled?). I've been in meetings with him where tempers have flared, and he has the most amazing knack at regaining focus, getting everyone to acknowledge what they are angry about without remaining angry, and moving on to the task at hand. I've been known to throw my own little temper tantrums at work, as it is a highly frustrating job, and he constantly refocuses me, calms me down, and not only points me toward the solution, but does it in a way that aids ME in finding the solution myself. This of course, is a personality of a man who spent his childhood essentially mothering his mother when she would get manic.

He's seriously one of the most amazing and kind people I've ever met... I love him like a family member, but one that, you know, you work with and would feel really weird hanging out with at a swimming pool or something.

When I told him that the forthcoming DU report was going to find bipolar disorder as a possible diagnosis for The Kid, he immediately ushered me into his office. We sat down, talked a little about what it was like for his son. Luckily, they knew that lithium worked on my boss's mother, so they pretty quickly found a dosage that worked with my boss's son as well, and since then, he's done pretty well. He's in high school now, is class president, an athlete, and scored decently on his SAT's and will probably get into a pretty good university.

During this conversation, I said, Boss, don't you get this strange sense of serendipity here? I am so lucky to know you.

He let out a gasp and started to cry, and nodded. I cannot tell you what that felt like. It was, um, cosmic. I was meant to meet him, to have him help me. I can't imagine what I'd be feeling with this diagnosis if I didn't know my boss and his son.

Do you understand now? I am blessed! If you thought that I was overly naive or optimistic with the whole "this is the best of all possible worlds" thing, do you get it now? I can't ever feel "why me?" or feel put upon, because it just all fits together so well. It feels like destiny. It feels like it's what we are meant to do.