And this too, shall pass away...

"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too, shall pass away.'"
~ Abraham Lincoln
I started to complain about how weary I am right now but realized that the reason I’m weary is that nothing seems to be going “my way” right now…and that is just plain being whiney, not weary.
Felix #2, our latest night guard, is about to become unemployed once again. He has 5 children and a grandchild on the way and needs to work...but evidently, not bad enough. He has had only one job for a few months since he quit working after two months of employment with us a year ago. At that time, he said he needed more money and although we fully understood that, we did not feel as though we could increase his wages after working for us for such a short time. He opted to leave and we found someone else.
When he came by and asked us for a job again, we were in a situation where we were going to be needing a new night guard and so Jim told him the pay was the same for him as it was a year ago and that we expected him to be at work on time which was a problem with him last year. Jim also reminded him that one of his complaints last year was that we lived too far away for him as uses his bicycle for transportation. Jim told him that the distance was still the same between our two houses. Felix#2 was fine with all of it, saying he needed the job and so, we hired him a few days later, thinking it was an amazing act of provision from the Lord. Felix #2 was late for work his first night…and his second…and his third…and his…well, you get the idea.
Jim also found him asleep on the ground up by the gate and actually had to kick his foot to wake him up. That’s not good for your night guard to sleep that soundly…especially when he’s not supposed to be asleep at all!!! Jim addressed the tardiness issue with Felix #2 as well as the sleeping while on duty issue. The very next night, Felix #2 was late for work again…and if that weren’t bad enough, he was leaving work early in the mornings.
So, Jim talked to him for the 3rd time in 10 days about the necessity of being at work on time. Now, this sounds like we’re hounding Felix #2 about this but there is a reason we’re being so picky about the work hours issue. While we’re in the States, Felix #1 (our day guard) can’t leave his shift until Felix #2 shows up…which isn’t fair to Felix#1. And it’s true that Felix#2 can’t leave his shift until Felix #1 shows up…but most generally, he comes to work on time. Both the day guard and the night guard are going to have to work longer hours during the time we are State-side so that the house is always covered and the dog is always “companioned”.
Last night…or rather this morning…was the last straw with Felix #2. Jim reminded him that he needed to stay until 6:00 a.m. Right now, our day guard isn’t coming to work until 7:30 or so. Felix #2 told Jim that he wanted to leave at 5:00 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m. This wasn’t just for one day, he was asking to shorten his shift an hour…which, if we weren’t getting ready to leave for the States, we might have worked out but we needed him to show us that he could work his shift and get it right.
Jim told him that he needed to stay until 6:00 a.m. and that he knew those were his work hours. Felix #2 said “okay” and although we discussed the fact that he probably wasn’t going to stick around for long as he doesn’t like working such a structured schedule…as do many Nicas. Problem for both them and us is that we expect them to work a structured schedule.
The dog woke us up at 5:30 this morning needing to go outside. Jim got up to take him out and Felix #2 had already gone. Needless to say, Jim was not a happy camper. It’s already light out at this hour. That may not seem important but it is.
We were frustrated with this situation and of course, discussed it as we got ready to go to CINAFE for the staff English class. When we went outside to leave, Freddy, our gardener, asked where the flashlight was that the night guard uses. He wanted to use it to look down in our water tank as he was going to clean it out for us today. He told us that it was nowhere to be found and Jim surmised that Felix #2 must have laid it down somewhere.
This evening, when we got home from a very busy day, Freddy said he never did find the flashlight and that he thinks Felix #2 took it because he must have left before it was light out. I thought about it and realized Freddy was probably right. And I sighed a huge sigh…of frustration, of disappointment and of flat-out irritation. It really ticked me off that he would take Jim’s discussion with him so lightly. He shouldn’t have.
We decided this morning that if Felix #2 needed a job as badly as he professed, then he would probably have shown a little more responsibility in keeping it. I felt badly that the night guard revolving door hadn’t even come to a full stop before it was started up again. But I also felt really frustrated that we could not get Felix #2 to understand why it was important that he come to work on time and that he work his scheduled shift. He professes to be a Christian but his attitude regarding his work is anything but. We also realized that if he wasn’t willing to work as he had agreed to do for the people who paid him each week, then he wasn’t going to be willing to show that respect to the day guard who would be dependent upon him to show up on time so that he could go home.
We leave in less than a week…there is no time to find someone, hire them, train them, build a relationship of trust and leave our dog, our cats and our home in their hands. So…what to do, what to do? Do we keep Felix #2, allow him to come and go as he pleases and to possibly be disrespectful of the other employee’s schedules, as well as our expectations? Or, do we cut our losses now and trust that God will provide us with yet another person to help us with this need? We went with the second option.
When we left CINAFE this morning after my English class was over, we called Miguel and asked if it would be okay if we came by and talked with him. He said he would be waiting. When we got there, he asked us in to his little house. He and Elizabeth gave me their one chair and Miguel sat on the edge of the bed while Jim stood just inside the doorway. Elizabeth was in and out, washing her hair, hanging up clothes, etc. Because Miguel’s not been practicing his English much, he asked me to speak in Spanish. So, I related our situation to Miguel. We told him that we just didn’t feel like we could trust Felix #2 to work his schedule while were gone if he wouldn’t do it while we were there. Miguel shook his head in agreement.
I stressed why it was so important that the night guard come to work at his scheduled time and stay until his shift was over. Miguel agreed. I then asked Miguel if he would be interested in working the night guard position while we are in the States. We told him that although we don’t pay the other employees their bus fare, we would do that for him since he has to come from such a long distance plus we would pay him the same wages Felix would have been receiving. He didn’t even bat an eye or let a second elapse before he said, “Yes!”
I’m sure that a good part of his willingness to do this is because he is without work. We stressed that this was going to be a long three weeks for him but he seemed to be very pleased to be able to do this for us…and although I know he needs the money, I think he also needs to feel as though he’s doing something to help us…and he is. We know Miguel very well and he is trustworthy and dependable. Felix #1 and Freddy also know Miguel and they like him so we don’t have to worry about that aspect.
I also asked Elizabeth what she thought and I told her that she was really the one who was going to be making a sacrifice. She understood but she didn’t seem to mind at all. I think the thought of 3 weeks of steady income was helping her get past any concerns she might have. Both Miguel and Elizabeth fully understand the need for us to have a guard here both night and day so there was no need for us to have to convince either of them.
So, at 6:30 this morning, we weren’t at all sure what we were going to do about having a night guard for the time we are going to be in the States. At 6:30 this evening, we have our good friend, Miguel, coming to babysit our animals and our home.
Felix #2 has his night off tonight. Jim was able to get a message to him telling him that he needed to give his keys and flashlight to Margarita to bring to us tomorrow in order to get his final pay. Felix #2 called Jim on the phone and of course, he was upset. Jim can’t understand much of what he says when they’re talking face-to-face but trying to understand Felix #2 on the phone is impossibility. So, Felix #2 is supposed to come by tomorrow morning to talk to Jim.
We have decided that we will not be using him while we’re gone to the States. He has already demonstrated to us that is not a good idea for us. But because we do not have the luxury of time to give him another opportunity to see if he is willing to change his behavior, we will tell him that if he should decide he would like to try again, we will re-hire him upon our return but it will be on a probationary basis. I don’t expect that to happen but we do want to give him every opportunity to do the responsible thing in taking care of his family.
That was the big thing for the day…until we got home, that is. Then another fly flew into the ointment! Our ride to the airport on Tuesday morning very well may not be happening. We had confirmed this again earlier this week so I was a little shaken to find out this evening that we might have to make different arrangements at this late date. Not quite sure what to do about this…our pool of people to call for such things is pretty small. An airport run is not convenient for anyone and especially at 5:30 in the morning. It's hard enough to ask one person to do this bu t now, the thought of trying to find someone else for us to impose upon just makes me tired and anxious.
So, tonight…I keep reminding myself of Abraham Lincoln’s story and the words of encouragement they contain…this too, shall pass away. Tonight, I wish I was on the other side of it all. I’m ready to be at “home” with my family for awhile…staying with Mandy, Jack and the 5 grandkids! That’s a chaos, confusion and unexpected happenings that I heartily embrace and look forward to experiencing!