Today was a tough morning for my daughter. She is 23 and working her first real job. Although she has an IQ of any Harvard grad, we are grateful for her job within walking distance at the little convenience store by our home.
They are understaffed and have no idea the stress she is under working 40+ hours a week. Exhaustion exacerbates her tics, and this morning her fist slammed into her thigh repeatedly, a cruel tic that leaves her legs aching, the same legs she must stand on continuously for 8 hour shifts. I wasn't sure she would make it to work. We could hear her sobs through the door, and her rare screaming tic acting up.
My heart was breaking for her. She is terrified of being "found out", of having her life crash like stacked cans upset by a shopping cart. She told her boss about Tourette's when she was hired, but the look on her boss's face spoke volumes about the discretion needed. My daughter downplayed the severity of the tics, and omitted the part about debilitating depression and crippling anxiety. It's taken long enough to get a job, and she's been burned before.
Tonight, valiantly, she is there, at work. Her expressed goal is to ensure that every customer leaves the store with a smile on his or her face. She is a delight, and not a shopping soul knows of her internal pain.
Remember my daughter at the check out this holiday season, because she is not the only one with hidden pain. May we purpose to put a smile on the face of every retail employee, no matter how hurried or pressured we ourselves feel.
They are understaffed and have no idea the stress she is under working 40+ hours a week. Exhaustion exacerbates her tics, and this morning her fist slammed into her thigh repeatedly, a cruel tic that leaves her legs aching, the same legs she must stand on continuously for 8 hour shifts. I wasn't sure she would make it to work. We could hear her sobs through the door, and her rare screaming tic acting up.
My heart was breaking for her. She is terrified of being "found out", of having her life crash like stacked cans upset by a shopping cart. She told her boss about Tourette's when she was hired, but the look on her boss's face spoke volumes about the discretion needed. My daughter downplayed the severity of the tics, and omitted the part about debilitating depression and crippling anxiety. It's taken long enough to get a job, and she's been burned before.
Tonight, valiantly, she is there, at work. Her expressed goal is to ensure that every customer leaves the store with a smile on his or her face. She is a delight, and not a shopping soul knows of her internal pain.
Remember my daughter at the check out this holiday season, because she is not the only one with hidden pain. May we purpose to put a smile on the face of every retail employee, no matter how hurried or pressured we ourselves feel.
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