Well. Whadayaknow*
I arranged for a lunch on the bay with a family member today. It turns out that it was their Retrenchment Day. As I arrived they received a phone call from their employer (on their day off) to tell them that they were retrenched and that yesterday was their last workday. Others were retrenched this morning too.
So I turned the day into a Retrenchment Day where the retrenched person gets to do whatever they like. It turns out our lunch plans at Port Melbourne were perfect for the occasion followed by short walks and sits and chats.
This person had given me a similar Retrenchment Day on my last day of work a couple of months ago. The idea of the day is that "it is nothing to feel ashamed of" and "we did what we could and gave the best that we could". The retrenched person gets to talk as much and as little as they want on whatever topic they want. The point is that the other person is there for them and wants to make this day as pleasant as it is possible in the circumstances. The other person affirms that the retrenched person is a great person.
If you know someone who is being retrenched, give them a Retrenchment Day. It is good for the soul.
* What do you know



