I am sitting here recovering from my recent surgery.  Meanwhile many of my coworkers are covering for me as I heal.  They are handling my calls and my reports among other tasks that they so willingly step in to take care of.  And how does it affect me?  I am wallowing in guilt.  Guilt for not being there.  Guilt for the poor timing of this surgery.  We as an office are going through a very large and work intensive broker dealer change.   And here I am, sitting at home recuperating.

It was fortunate that my daughter is experiencing car trouble and tonight I drove her around to her appointment.  It was fortunate because I got to listen to her tell me how guilty she was feeling. It seems her coworkers and her boyfriend are taking care of her while she is without her car.  I could write an entire blog piece on the value of wisdom gained in conversations with our children but I’ll save that for another time.  The pearl of wisdom is the realization of what is really happening here.

When we allow others to step in when we can’t, we get to witness the actions of people who care for us.  In truth, our inability to perform our tasks gives them the chance to show that they do care about us and at the same time we give them the opportunity to demonstrate their worth as a coworker.

I have always been a responsible person and as such could not imagine making others do my work.  To that end I can pride myself in seldom if ever missing work but now, thanks to my daughter, I see that I may have just been depriving people of their opportunity to step in.  It is still not easy for me to shed this guilt, but in this new light, some of my anxiety has decreased.

If there is a moral here, it is to trust others and accept their willingness to help out.  Accept it for what it is, a gift.  Savor the gift, appreciate their efforts and try just a little, to shed some of your guilt.