Today is a big day! Today, I celebrate my mom! This day, 30 June 2015 will forever signify the day my mom went on retirement. After 44 years and 6 months (don’t forget the six months) of loyal service and dedication for South African Airways (SAA), my mom is hanging up her access card.
The past weeks have been somewhat emotional. Why, many would ask. Well it is simple, my mom and her dedication to her work has been one of the very few constants in my life. It is the end of an era as we know it and the beginning of a new one. Change is scary; uncertain. Looking back I can hardly believe it has been so long. Life is about the choices that you make. My mom chose to work for one company, she chose to sit in traffic every day for 3 hours to and from the airport, she chose to do the 8-5, in uniform.
Some might argue this is absolute stupidity whilst others will argue that it is insane loyalty. I vote for the latter. But what is loyalty? Loyalty to me is a faithful devotion to something. Loyalty within the workplace is one of the biggest challenges in today’s fast-paced business world. Some organisations acknowledge loyalty, others will turn a blind eye, but do organisations really value insane loyalty from employees and the price they pay for this devotion?
At my mom’s surprise farewell on Friday, I was asked to say a few words on behalf of the family. The request came as a surprise… so an unprepared speech it was. I feel that there was so much more I wanted to and should have said.
Hence my decision to write it down, tell it to the world. My mamma, Emily Rebecca Ackermann or Ema as she was known at work, is a formidable force to be reckoned with. My mom is superwoman. She is gorgeous and she has the most beautiful smile, always meticulously groomed. She is friendly, she loves talking and laughing. She is a bit of a perfectionist, hardworking, thorough, it is black or white, she is disciplined, she is resilient and she perseveres until the job is done. She is patient, caring, religious, she loves her family and will do anything for them. My mom is strong, she is brave and she is the best mom I could ever have asked for.
Being a mother of two daughters whilst having a full-time job was not easy, she had to juggle with her responsibilities and had to often rush from pillar to post. My mom was away from home for nearly 11 hours everyday, there were times she had to do 12 hour shifts, from 7-7. In between it all she had to make time for us, my dad and find time for herself. She is a great mom who always provided what we needed. She has however set the bar very high, I can only but wish to be half the woman she is.
I have the biggest admiration for my mom and her dedication to her “something”: SAA. She might not have climbed the corporate ladder at SAA but she gave it her all. To SAA: “Thank you for everything you meant to my mom, thank you to every boss and every colleague that shared in my mom’s journey with SAA”. To the powers at SAA I want to say this, “Thank you for the dignified farewell my mom received. Consider yourself very blessed to have had this remarkable woman, I call my mom, as a part of your team for 44 years”. This insane loyalty deserves maximum respect. Behind every great brand is great people.
My mom chose to spend 11 214 hours of her life at SAA. She loved her job. Ask her if she would do it again, her answer “in a heartbeat”.
Today I raise my glass to my mom, for she is a jolly good fellow and so say all of us. Cheers mom to a job well done, cheers to the end of an era and the start of another.
Time to sit back, relax and take it all in.
Baie lief vir moeks!!
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The past weeks have been somewhat emotional. Why, many would ask. Well it is simple, my mom and her dedication to her work has been one of the very few constants in my life. It is the end of an era as we know it and the beginning of a new one. Change is scary; uncertain. Looking back I can hardly believe it has been so long. Life is about the choices that you make. My mom chose to work for one company, she chose to sit in traffic every day for 3 hours to and from the airport, she chose to do the 8-5, in uniform.
Some might argue this is absolute stupidity whilst others will argue that it is insane loyalty. I vote for the latter. But what is loyalty? Loyalty to me is a faithful devotion to something. Loyalty within the workplace is one of the biggest challenges in today’s fast-paced business world. Some organisations acknowledge loyalty, others will turn a blind eye, but do organisations really value insane loyalty from employees and the price they pay for this devotion?
At my mom’s surprise farewell on Friday, I was asked to say a few words on behalf of the family. The request came as a surprise… so an unprepared speech it was. I feel that there was so much more I wanted to and should have said.
Hence my decision to write it down, tell it to the world. My mamma, Emily Rebecca Ackermann or Ema as she was known at work, is a formidable force to be reckoned with. My mom is superwoman. She is gorgeous and she has the most beautiful smile, always meticulously groomed. She is friendly, she loves talking and laughing. She is a bit of a perfectionist, hardworking, thorough, it is black or white, she is disciplined, she is resilient and she perseveres until the job is done. She is patient, caring, religious, she loves her family and will do anything for them. My mom is strong, she is brave and she is the best mom I could ever have asked for.
Being a mother of two daughters whilst having a full-time job was not easy, she had to juggle with her responsibilities and had to often rush from pillar to post. My mom was away from home for nearly 11 hours everyday, there were times she had to do 12 hour shifts, from 7-7. In between it all she had to make time for us, my dad and find time for herself. She is a great mom who always provided what we needed. She has however set the bar very high, I can only but wish to be half the woman she is.
I have the biggest admiration for my mom and her dedication to her “something”: SAA. She might not have climbed the corporate ladder at SAA but she gave it her all. To SAA: “Thank you for everything you meant to my mom, thank you to every boss and every colleague that shared in my mom’s journey with SAA”. To the powers at SAA I want to say this, “Thank you for the dignified farewell my mom received. Consider yourself very blessed to have had this remarkable woman, I call my mom, as a part of your team for 44 years”. This insane loyalty deserves maximum respect. Behind every great brand is great people.
My mom chose to spend 11 214 hours of her life at SAA. She loved her job. Ask her if she would do it again, her answer “in a heartbeat”.
Today I raise my glass to my mom, for she is a jolly good fellow and so say all of us. Cheers mom to a job well done, cheers to the end of an era and the start of another.
Time to sit back, relax and take it all in.
Baie lief vir moeks!!
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