I am surprisingly upset right now. Far more upset than I thought I’d be. Not that I ever thought I’d be crying over my former boss — especially not over this, no one wishes for this.
My friend and former coworker, “Stella”, just sent me a note through Facebook alerting me that our old boss, the doctor in the optometry center where we both worked, met and became friends, is in the end stages of what sounds like a terrible cancer I’d never even heard of until about 4 minutes ago.
I’m… stunned and well, I’m just floored. And I’m so very, very sad for her and her beautiful family. Such wonderful people. It seems so unfair.
I met Dr. M in 1992 when I walked into the mall to get an eye exam. First I met Stella, who gave me my pre-exam, then Dr. M, who five minutes into the exam pulled back the keratometer and said, “I like you! Do you want a job here?”
And there you have it. I’d never even had an eye exam, but within minutes, I had a job as the new optometric technician. It all just clicked and I knew right away that I wanted to work for her. I didn’t even hesitate to say “Yes!” even though I already had a perfectly decent job for slightly more money. I started in a few days and over the next few months, Dr. M. and Stella taught me everything they could about being a great optometric assistant. They even taught me to fit contacts so I could study for my NCLE (which I never did end up getting — I’m wishing I had now, for some reason).
I loved everything about working for Dr. M. She is bright and brilliant (literally – I think she’s a Mensa member), tall with beautiful long curly auburn hair. When I worked with her she had kind of a quirky style and she often joked about being built like Olive Oyl. She has sparkling light eyes and a soft voice that I still hear in my head sometimes when I think of her.
Dr. M. challenged me (and I’m pretty sure I challenged her, since I often seem to with those who mentor me — though not in the same way!) and she saw potential in me for so much. I was so grateful to her for giving me chance to work in her office and get to know her and become not only an employee, but a friend. It wasn’t hard for me to leave the company — after a couple years, Dr. M had moved to another office in another mall and I was still at the same location, but over the years I’ve always thought fondly of her and wondered where she was, what she was up to.
I think one of the biggest impacts Dr. M had on my life was she introduced me to a lot of jazz and blues. She used to crank up Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn in the office… to the point the retail side would ask us to turn it down. And if her exam room door was open while the music was playing, you’d often catch her bebop-ing her booty around while she peered through the keratometer at some unsuspecting patient’s retina. She was an excellent OD and I know her patients loved her.
I knew through the grapevine that she was living in the midwest, still doing her optometry thing, along with her husband and (now grown) sons (who are awesome in their own right). And I’d looked her up on Google a few times and finally found her new clinic in her new state, saw a photo and thought, “I should really call the office sometime and see how she is doing.”
And I never did and I wish, I so wish that I had. Her husband says that she can’t receive calls or emails right now, which I can imagine, so I won’t bother them, but I wish I could tell her what she meant to me. She is such a strong woman and I just never envisioned this, never thought she would get sick, never even considered that she wouldn’t be around for me to tell her… eventually. And while thankfully she is still with us, I don’t think I’ll get that chance.
This one is for you, Mag.
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