How 13 years became 5 years.

I have always had a problem with authority - I don't like following other peoples rules... that's part of the reason I started my own business. I worked for a mental health agency for 13 years. I was one of the little guys who did the hardest work & received a salary that was very, very difficult to live on. We (the little guys) all felt as though we were doing God's work. Fighting the good fight. Standing up for the people who couldn't stand up for themselves. Advocating for them so they didn't get completely fucked over by society. One of the most amazing things that happened to me during that time was something I completely didn't expect. A client came up to me in the grocery store & said: "I'll never forget what you did for me, you saved my life. "Huh?" I said. The Doctors said I would've died if I'd gotten to the hospital even one minute later." Now, I didn't think I had done anything special. None of us ever did really. 90% of the time, the days were uneventful. The most important thing we did on a daily basis was spend time with people. They really did appreciate us just being there. About 1/2 the staff truly cared about the clients. And we'd do everything we could for them. The extra stuff that no one else would do. Shoveling snow or cleaning for them, bringing meals, bringing holiday gifts or when we knew they were broke & out of cigarettes, we'd get them some (& it was against the rules to give gifts or smokes). And when emergencies happened, you'd assess the situation, make a decision, do what you had to do & get back to the regular daily stuff. So the woman who told me I had saved her life took me by surprise because I didn't really think much of the situation when it happened. She was having a medical issue, it was obvious. I happened to be at her neighbors, giving him his medications. I had 2 choices - drive her to the hospital 1/2 mile away, or call an ambulance 10 minutes away. I flew them up there, dropped them off & went back to work. See what I mean? And that's happened a few times... well, not that specifically, but that kind of thing. The rewards from that job were "feel-good" rewards. Never monetary.
Over the course of those 13 years, I learned a lot about life. And I learned a lot about how not to run a business.
It all ended on the day they inter-office mailed me one of those big yellow envelopes with holes in it -- with 100 previous reciepients names all crossed off. Inside the envelope was a "Thank you for you continued service to the agency", photocopied letter. There was also a gift. A service pin that I was to wear proudly on my lapel. The pin said: "dedicated service award - 5 years". FIVE YEARS? FIVE YEARS!?! Are they fucking serious!?! So naturally, I lost it. I was laughing! I was in shock. I was pacing. I was staring out the window of the shitty office I had spent so many years of my life coming in & out of... and I knew. "That's it." I said. "That's the last straw." The other staff were silent, wide-eyed, eyebrows-raised. "I'm not doing this anymore". I said.

13 years & they had finally broken me. Shortly thereafter I turned in my 2 week notice / letter of resignation, packed my shit & never NEVER looked back.

There's a heck of a lot more to the story, which I may or may not get into as I blog. But what you just read, is the overview, the general gist of things. And that's how 13 years, became 5 years.