Get Out and Give Back
By Jane Hess
This one’s for Janine.
Janine is my co-worker. We share a metal-and-fabric cubicle wall and I know more about her than she thinks.
Janine works full time, raises five kids with her husband and takes night classes for her master’s degree four nights a week. She is also the stealth give-back-er in our organization. She’s very quiet and secretive about it, but every so often you can catch her in the act.
Last week I caught her helping the cleaning lady with her English grammar workbook – or was it a math workbook? Either way, she and Janine were huddled over a counter while Janine patiently explained how the process (it was either sentence construction or fractions) worked. The woman was totally engaged and asking questions in broken English.
Last month, when the office staff discussed how we could get clothes to the Hurricane Katrina evacuees temporarily living in the DC Armory and how bad we felt for them, Janine quietly commented that she and her husband had already traveled to the Armory and volunteered to have a family move in with them until they found permanent housing.
Last staff meeting she asked us if any of us had a computer printer to give her – she was mentoring two pre-teen girls, one of whom was homeless, and she needed a printer to help them with their school-related computer assignments.
Last Friday Janine finally received a delayed and much-deserved promotion. When it was time for her to speak at this small ceremony, she thanked those who helped her get to this prestigious point – the usual comments one hears at a promotion. Then, stubbornly blocking tears, she dedicated this promotion, a huge milestone in her professional life, to her brother who died of kidney failure eight months previously – on the same day that she took the written test that would determine whether she’d be promoted or not. Janine’s brother lived with her and her family for months, waiting for that magic call that a kidney had been found for him. When he was too sick for her to care for him, she moved him to the nearest hospital, then spent every single night (and that’s every single night) by his bedside until the day he died.
A few weeks ago the boss gave me the chance to move to another spot in the office cubicle farm. I declined. Why? Because I know a role model when I see one and want to continue sharing the cubicle wall with Janine – listening to her, spying on her, learning from her.
Maybe all of us can be the office Janine.
Get out and give back.
Jane Hess is a free-lance writer and life coach. You can send your comments to getoutandgiveback@hotmail.com
