Project - Sunshine for Erin

I speak often of how much I love my coworkers. I love my job and everything about it. My coworkers have been there for me and my family since the day Catherine died. They started showing up the moment they found out. And since that day they have continued to be there. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to properly thank them for all they have done. God knew what he was doing when I started at Permobil. 

On Monday, my coworker John asked if I was going to be at work all week. I told him that I was taking Thursday and Friday off to mentally prepare for Christmas. He said that a few of my coworkers had something for me that they wanted to deliver to the house and asked if they could come by Friday after work. I was puzzled but agreed. This morning the weather was terrible and John asked if there was any way I could come up to the office for them to give me something. It turned out to be a great idea because there were a ton of people that worked on this plan the past month and I would have likely panicked if they had all shown up at my house. 

Josh was off today so we headed up to the office around 11:45 to meet everyone. As we walked into the lobby, coworkers started coming up in groups. One after another until the lobby was full of people that mean so much to me. I was starting to freak out a little. They all went into the conference room and gathered around and had us come in.  It was explained that they knew how much we loved being outside and in our backyard and they wanted to do something special for us in honor of Catherine. And then they all moved and the tears started flowing. In the middle of my coworkers was the most beautiful bench I have ever seen.

 The craftsmanship was out of this world and it was her favorite color. It had storage in the seat and on the front was a plaque that read "In Memory of Catherine Batcheler."

 I still tear up when I think about it. The whole experience rocked me to my core. My biggest fear was that my girl would be forgotten over time and here she was being remembered. The beautiful bench will go under the tree where her wind chimes from the Lebanon High School Band hang. For now it is in my living room. On such a gloomy day, I couldn't stand to have it outside. And when we brought it it, the bench looked like it was custom fit to sit in front of our fireplace. 

I'm not sure what I did to ever deserve this much kindness. I'm embarrassed by it at times because I know I will never be able to repay everyone for all they have done for me and my family. My company is my safe space. The place I can go to work or get hugs or cry or destroy boxes or just take a mental health day. No one has judged my grief and I'm encouraged by these people every single day. I'm so honored to call them not only coworkers, but my friends. They are family and I will be forever grateful for every single one of them. 

John C., John R., John G., Teri, Mark, Mitch, Michael, Blake, Ryan, Shawn, Tracy, Todd, Dave, Brian, Robert, James, Ashley, Doug, Katrina, and Kevin (not pictured: Chris, Melissa, Cheryl, and Charlene)