Banana-Stuffing Mama Bear

I'm pretty sure my blood pressure rose to it's highest point on Tuesday, as I listened to the message on our answering machine.  (Time 3:00, when Serena was still at school): "This is ---- from Dow, calling to let Serena know that our interviewers are finished and will not be coming back. So, we have cancelled your interview for tomorrow, and the position has already been filled. If you have any questions, you can give us a call." Just reliving that makes me boil all over again!

Serena, along with only 2 of her classmates, had applied for a co-op position at Dow, which would have started in August. When the other two had been called for interviews and she hadn't, she was feeling pretty nervous, as she had turned in a pretty impressive resume herself, with no help from anyone.  We told her to just hang in there, that it was nothing "personal", and maybe she would still get a call too. Well, a week later, and lots of prayer later, she got the call too, and we all rejoiced! While of course she understood there was no guarantee of getting the position, she was so happy to have just gotten the opportunity to interview. It was bold enough just to apply, we reminded her. It's great experience for other potential opportunities.

She prepared for the interview, planned for it by finding the place beforehand, making sure not to be scheduled for work that afternoon, taking off school 45 minutes early,and asking me to set aside time to ride with her to give her moral support. Keeping in mind she is seventeen, and this is not a "real-world" situation where it's dog-eat-dog, and a co-op position, we were impressed by her dedication and preparation. We were NOT impressed, however, by the handling of it on Dow's end. I mean, what kind of company treats a high school kid like that? Unfortunately, the one my husband has worked for since 1994. I'm unimpressed by the lack of humanness, one of the qualities they claim to possess. I guess we can only predict how she would have been treated as an employee one day. Sometimes things do happen for a reason. Sometimes it feels like things are never going to work out the way we want them to. Sometimes it feels like we get a whole clump of those "things" all mushed up together. It's hard for me to remain positive sometimes when I see these things happen to my kids, because I know how these "things" go in life. One thing after another. These things require so much strength, so much maturity, and sometimes, just sometimes we want something to go right! And they do...we just forget that when things are going wrong.

So, I threw my fit, there at home, and on my side was the fact that Serena was late getting home that day because she was part of a traveling talent show. I hate injustice, I cannot bear for people to be treated unfairly or like they don't matter, and especially kids who I know really care about something so much. Disappointment is a big deal to a teenager, and it has to be handled with maturity. So I had to say all my bad stuff before she got home. When she walked in, and I dropped the news on her, the look on her face made me want to stick bananas in every tailpipe in the parking lot of anyone responsible for cancelling that interview! If you're a mama, you know. Don't poke the bear. To say she was disappointed was an understatement. She was more hurt than anything, that they wouldn't have considered her at all. The job doesn't even start until August. Why would they ask her for an interview and then cancel the day before? Exactly. She's wiser than them. I agree.

And as I spoke, I tried to impart motherly wisdom and optimism..."God must have something better for you next year... Sometimes we don't know why things happen the way we do until we see the results later".  And then I had to give her the story of how her dad struggled to find his job (ironically at Dow). "Banks wouldn't hire him. He couldn't even get a car dealership to give him a job! He was so frustrated! He kept his job at Sears and won all kinds of service awards. At a company picnic, he met the husband of a co-worker who was impressed with his demeanor and his performance, as detailed by his wife. He said, "hey, would you like to interview for Dow?" And the rest is history..."

 So, I tried to remind her that it doesn't matter who doesn't want us or who treats us like we don't matter. If we just do the best job we can wherever we are, we will be rewarded. I still believe that, although I don't appreciate the way she was treated and when she said, "should I call?"  I did encourage her to call the number and ask lots of questions as to why it was handled that way. I think that's the mature thing to do. And she should probably do that without her banana-stuffing mother bear behind her.....