All the Days

The crickets and the rust-beetles scuttled among the nettles of the sage thicket. "Vámonos, amigos," he whispered, and threw the busted leather flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight.

During the pandemic, (pardon the use of that tired phrase), with many people dealing with kids at home, or caretaker responsibilities, or the general polycrises of it all, my company gave everyone an extra day off each quarter. There was no obligation to show up, go to meetings, or do anything for anyone other than yourself. These quarterly, and more importantly, company-wide days off, were referred to as a Day for Me. Occasionally, like a lunar eclipse, one of these Days for Me would align with a pre-existing holiday, giving you a four-day weekend. A golden, obligatory, obligation-free number of days. Last week was one of those alignments.

It had been a good week. As a team, we had a heavy list of deliverables that, if we couldn’t get done, we may have had to work through what should’ve been one of those days off. Yet, we’re a team of professionals, and everything was under control, and in the end, I think, we saved Christmas (by which I mean we had preserved our time away).

Lately, work has been energized by new technologies, new challenges, and a renewed purpose. While our industry peers and competitors jumped on the AI bandwagon, our executive team recognized the paired threats of quantum computing and AI, saw the opportunities, and reacted with their typical conservative caution. For once, being a fast follower rather than an innovator made troubled waters calmer. That cautious approach delivered a robust and record revenue and stock price. Success that comes with change also means that change comes with success. Despite pocket-bursting profits, a shuffling of the deck followed. It turned out, my card came up in that shuffle. So it was, that a day before the long weekend, I was informed I had been “impacted by a Limited Restructuring”, “let go”, “laid off”, “86’d,” or any number of corporate ways you have of saying, it’s over. I have been on the other side of this conversation, and I can honestly tell you, it is far easier receiving it than giving it. Though neither side is easy, it’s a difficult mirror to look into.

After the initial shock, I felt excitement and a little fear. After all, for years, I’ve tapped my debit card to make a payment, knowing that for every cent that went out, another one would soon take its place, like a steady flow from a faucet that you think will never run dry. Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I’ve made quite a good career being an average white man. A generous severance package and an allotment of stock at its highest value will be the cistern I draw from. I have been mulling retirement for some time, and now the decision was made. It’s been more than 35 years in the making. It turns out, the upcoming Day for Me would be both my last Day for Me and my first day for me. From now on, all the days will be for me.