Just Before a Holiday

"It's not personal," they said. "We just have to save money."

When I was last in the office on Tuesday, someone walked into our little group area. "Anyone have fun plans for the three-day weekend?" No one else knew what she was talking about. "Monday's a holiday," she said. "It's Martin Luther King, Jr. day. We have it off."

That was the hit of the conversation for the day. Everyone else had forgotten that Monday was a paid holiday. There were a few bursts of chatter about plans for the long weekend. I looked forward to sleeping in one extra day. Maybe I'd do some house cleaning, and work on a writing project I'd long set aside. Maybe I'd go see a movie -- I haven't done that in ages.

Of course, getting laid off on a Thursday before the Friday before a three-day weekend means your company doesn't have to pay you for that holiday... but it's not personal. Keep repeating that. How rude it would be if it had been personal?