I work in a garden center so my job isn’t usually stressful, but I got a text yesterday morning saying that I’d need to meet my family at the vet to put our dog down right after my shift. I knew it was coming since the poor guy’s health was going downhill for a while, but he was 15 years old and I’m only 21 so I can’t really remember a time in my life where he wasn’t there.
I think any person would have been off their game after getting news like that. But we had 2 large truck deliveries and a lot of other work to do that day, so my manager was less tolerant of my behavior than she normally would be. She micromanaged me the whole day, telling me to redo the floral displays 3-4 times each because they weren’t up to her extremely specific standards (and it’s not like I don’t know how to move product, I’ve been doing greenhouse merchandizing for four years at three different locations). I also left for about fifteen minutes to go cry in the bathroom, and when I got back she berated me for not working fast enough.
I didn’t tell her what was going on with me because we’d only met a week ago (I’m new at this location). Looking back I probably should have stood up for myself but in the moment I was afraid I would lash out. Later that day, I decided to stay in the room with my dog as he passed. For a creature that gave his whole life to me I figured the least I could do was be there for him in his final moments.