Never Ever Give Up

I have the most wonderful daughters ever. What makes them so wonderful to me is that they love me. I would add; so much on to the end of that sentence, but maybe that is bragging too, much. I would love to give myself total credit for the women that they have become, but really they are better people than I am. Their morals are better than what I had when I was raising them. Many of my days were spent with a "you do what you got to' do, attitude." In the worst of times I was so ashamed that I was working two jobs, trying to feed us, that I hid many things from my family. In the small town we lived in what made me think that my brother, friends and other family members were not going to hear the things that was going on at my house. I always say, "That you have to pay attention to what your children are doing." Saying that and doing that all the time was something that I slacked on when I was really tired and having issues with work, money and trying to keep a house up. I worked for Lexington Fabrics; that was not easy work either. Some of the people in those plants got great pleasure in kicking you when you were down. NAFTA changed all we ever thought was good about our textile jobs. The hardest times I had there was when I was auditing shirts that we received from Mexico. This job was the lowest least respected job in the whole company. It did not help any that the boss was so totally out to see me starve. She knew how much I needed to work every hour that I could. I am really as nice as I seem to be. I tried so hard to make her understand all I wanted was to be treated as the others. One day I did tell her she was just mean and made her cry. Her grandson worked for us and did anything. I brought it to her attention one day that he did not need to be unloading trucks because he seemed to be on something. The only thing I got was the rest of the people there listening to her down me. There were some Mexican boys working at the time. She told them to clip the entire label as seconds; don’t take the time to look them. She made me look them and write down what was wrong with the shirt. That was what was supposed to be done according to the rules, so I did it. The boys didn’t do it, because the boxes got out of her way sooner. Mr. McCreary had always seen to it that I was taken care of; then his health started to fail and he was not there to see the way I was being treated. From the time I started at the age of seventeen with that company it was no secret as to how hard I worked. When times got hard for me one person decides that I should not get any overtime. That would be fine if everyone in building was getting overtime, but me. I took this until I could not take it anymore. One day my actions became way out of character for me. It came close to regular time to get off and I hear that everyone is working over, but I am told by Miss Plant Manager that I am not needed to stay. It was Friday afternoon. I decided I was not going home until everyone else did; I didn't care what the boss said, so there I stand working away and mad as hell. The boss comes and tells me to go home. My response, hell no, I ain't leaving until everyone else does. She leaves and comes back to tell me to go home, I give her the same response only madder by then. She comes back again with one of the big bosses at the time. I tell him the same, hell no, I am not leaving until everyone else does. I have more respect for him and finally calmed down enough to leave. This was Friday and I just knew Monday I would not have a job. It was not long after this; that none of us had a job.I came in on Monday and was written up. The Vice President said what I did was insubordination and that he had to make it look like he was writing me up. The write up was never formally filed and within a month I was given my own department to manage. The person that caused me so much pain at work has since had a terrible tragedy happen to her grandson. When the plants closed ironically they purchased the restaurant that I would leave the Cotton Gin Plant to moonlight at. Fate, Karma or whatever you want to call it; don't ever think you have it made. I have gathered along the way that no matter how hard you try there are people that just love to see you down. Loving each other would make the world a much better place.