the first day

After the driving test on Saturday, I called my new office and let them know that I had passed, and asked when I should report. The woman on the phone was welcoming and told me to show up at 10am on Monday. Monday, December 23 – two days before Christmas.

No one wants to deal with a new employee two days before Christmas. Especially when you’re working for the post office. I’m sure they weren’t *that* happy to see me. Needless to say, it’s not my fault I was told to report on that very day, and no one should treat me as such. For the most part they didn’t. But there were some detectable looks. Glances at my on-the-job trainer, as if to share with him their pain. “Poor guy has to train some chick when we have (holding up hands) THIS MUCH mail!”

Yeah, I saw you guys.

It got off to a rocky start. The trainer made a crack about a certain religion. A crack about a religion. Two days before Christmas, training a new person, whose personal beliefs you know absolutely nothing about, and you make an off-color comment about a religion. And wouldn’t you know it – it’s the one *I* believe in. It couldn’t be a crack about cults, or about stupid people, both of which I’m sure many of you categorize people like me who actually show up for weekly church gatherings, no – it just had to be about Catholics. Thanks.

As soon as it came out of his mouth, my eyes dropped to the floor. My face turned bright red, as I was really truly insulted. Hurt. Let me try and explain. Pretend you have a child. You love your child. Your kid may be funny looking, or have some kind of physical disability, but you’re his parent, and you don’t care. You love him no matter what. And then someone talks about him in front of you. Someone who doesn’t realize that’s *your* kid. That’s how it hurt.

He looked at me and asked, “You’re not . . . (dramatic pause, where I could imagine him actually holding up his fingers in hex-like cross configuration) Catholic, are you?”

Uneasily I answered, “Yeah. I am.”

It was a long day. Too bad I really want this job.

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