One Day Out Of The Box.

One of the many reasons I enjoy my job so much is meeting so many people. But when it turns out to be someone I knew 35 years ago...what a shock! I used to work in the office of a soft furnishings warehouse back then, and one of my jobs was to open the morning mail with the help of another girl. The daily mail could be up to 100 letters, so it took a while, and we got to know each other well, becoming good friends. L. left after a year or so, and I often wondered what happened to her since then.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived at a new client's home this morning to cook breakfast and assist with her shower, and another car pulled up in the driveway. A lady got out and came over to the door and we made small talk about our work until the client opened the door. Once inside, the other Carer explained what my duties would be, and while I was cooking breakfast and she was vaccuming, we talked some more about our respective jobs. After a while she asked me if I'd worked in a certain suburb about 30 years ago, and when I said yes, she said "I knew it was you, as soon as you said your name was Gina". I still hadn't recognised her, and when she said her name was L. you could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather! I told her I'd often thought of her and wondered where she'd gone, so she brought me up to date on her life so far.

She asked if I was still an Elvis fan and when I said that I'd seen him in concert, she called out to our client "Did you hear that M? Gina saw Elvis in concert!" It turned out that our client was an Elvis fan too, so after I'd helped her shower and dress, L. made us all a cuppa and we sat around and talked about Elvis. M. got up to put a music tape on, and when Elvis' voice rocked out at us, she tugged my hand and got me out of my chair. Then she started jiving; God only knows how she knew I was an expert jive dancer all those years ago - L. must have said something. M. is partially paralysed, but she was able to dance through three songs before dropping back into her chair with a huge grin on her face!

This is the kind of thing that really makes my day wonderful - not just a chance meeting with an old friend, but to bring some joy into someone else's life, even only for a few minutes.