"Cinetechnicians collect an average of 13 pension checks. Don't be in too much of a hurry to pension out".
Sometimes you have a conversation with someone that seems mundane, yet later on you realize just how much you missed during the conversation.
A few months ago I started a claim at work on my hands. I wasn't able to button my shirt in the morning without pain, couldn't use a vice grip in my right hand. Needless to say I was very worried about my future in my career. I big part of how I define myself / my self image is based on my ability to build with my hands.
Well I had to have a conversation with our Safety GF a few days later. I was very focused on myself during this conversation. But, I did notice that he was acting different. He was very calm and resolved. He wasn't annoyed that I was ruining our organizations injury statistics. He was genuinely interested in me taking care of myself. We spoke at length about his own trials and tribulations within our organization. At one point he very calmly looked me in the eye and told me to slow down and to do what ever I needed to do too enjoy my years
before retirement. He then told me that he was putting in his retirement papers that afternoon, and he left.
It was a surprisingly nice conversation, with zero blame focused at me.
Two weeks later someone asked me if I had heard the news about the Safety GF. I said that I knew he was retiring. Well, that was only half of the story. The GF had late stage pancreatic cancer, that had metastasized. The docs have only given him 6 weeks to live.
In hindsight that conversation wasn't about my hands at all. It was about his regrets, and how he wanted me to learn from them. I realize that it was also a hidden goodbye.
A very deep conversation, I wish I had listened better that day.
It takes up to 12 weeks to process our retirement paperwork. He will be gone before he sees a check. His wife will get his survivor's benefit.
