emmy's teacher

I hesitated to publish this. But this is my blog about life (and Emmy) and I write things down so I don't forget them and so that Emmy will know what life was like before her memory started saving things for her. 
 Emmy's teacher left the daycare yesterday. I am not sure if she was fired or quit or if that all happened at once. What happened between her and her boss is not my business so I won't speculate.  
But I loved her teacher and I am so sad that she is gone. She was hard on the kids and I knew that but I also liked it. Emmy's first week with her was rough but once she adjusted, her development seemed to take off. Her teacher and I talked every day... about Emmy's progress, the words she was learning, how she was getting along with her friends, what her favorite toys and activities are and even just the silly things Emmy did that day. Basically, she filled me in on everything I was missing out on and it was the highlight of my day. 
Just yesterday I asked for her thoughts on Emmy's verbal and physical development. I think Emmy is doing great but I like to hear from her teacher about her progress so I can make sure that Joe and I are doing our part to help out at home. She offered tips and we talked about the other kids in her class and the affection in her voice made me go soft over them too. I drove away feeling so happy about Emmy being in daycare, learning more than most kids her age and having friends that squeal her name when she arrives every morning. 
She was the first teacher Emmy had that was as good with adults as she is with children. I felt a connection with her and I wish I knew her last name so I could find her and tell her that she was good for Emmy and I am sad that she is gone. I want to tell her that it may not have worked out for her at this daycare but she should not be down on herself, and I would tell her my similar story in case it might make her feel better. 
 I had a very short-term career once. It lasted 6 months and I wish I could block it out of my memory. My boss was irrational, immature and rude. He yelled at me when I made a mistake, even if my only mistake was not catching his.  He would listen to me talk to someone on the phone then call me in his office to tell me how he would have said it. I hated to talk to anyone because I was so nervous that I would say something wrong.  I kept a daily journal of every little thing he asked me to do and check off what I got done so he couldn't lie and say that I forgot something. His constant critique was so frustrating, I cried on a weekly basis and I was no fun to be around after work. 
Finally, one day he was yelling at me and I started yelling back. It wasn't the first time I had stood up for myself, but I remember my vision getting kinda blurry and having that "out of body" experience. He told me that he thought I should "take some time off to think about whether or not I want my job" and I told him, "I don't need time to think about it, I quit". I remember the words coming out as if someone else had said them. I looked at my desk, hands shaking, face numb, trying to think of what I owned on my desk and how quickly I could get my hands on those things and run.  I jumped in my car, called Joe and sobbed.
It took a few weeks for me to find a new job, I almost left the industry altogether. I blamed the stress of the job on the nature of the business. I started working for my current boss who is 75(ish) years old and just about the smartest, kindest person in the world. He knew me from a previous job and trusted my work ethic and was eager to get me started. He trusted me completely with decisions, he didn't micromanage me, boss me around or ever once remind me who he was. He didn't have to. I would do anything for him, I pushed myself, I learned how to do my job more efficiently and then his job so I could be more helpful and when I inevitably made mistakes, he would offer support and we would find a solution together. He let me grow, showed me respect, increased my responsibility then compensated me fairly. I can't imagine ever wanting to leave this job.
Everyone here works together. We have zero drama and there is simply an overall goal of customer satisfaction & getting loans closed. I used to look back on those 6 months and think about how I should have handled my boss differently. Instead of crying, I should have calmly communicated that his expectations were irrational and I may not be the right person to work for him if he doesn't want to trust me to think for myself. I know that there were times that I was defensive with him and it was hard for me to admit if I did make a mistake. I own up to mistakes quickly now. I work on fixing them and I move on, no one gets upset, no one gets blamed. And, if my boss asks me to do something, I may voice my disagreement with him but I will do it his way because at the end of the day, this company has his name on it, not mine. 
I hope Emmy's teacher can learn from this experience and I really hope that she is able to find a new opportunity where she can apply her skills with children. Emmy and I are surely gonna miss her.