Today was the back to reality day for me and work. Summer break has now officially come and gone and it went way too fast, as it usually does. With the way 2020 has gone and how turned upside down work has gone the past five months, I am feeling more disconnected now than maybe I have ever felt. I am sure there are many people experiencing the same feelings. So, today at work, I am working on some things preparing for the upcoming school year. My phone in my room rings. I never get calls on this phone. When it is ringing, I saw the number come up on caller ID and I did not recognize it. To be honest with you, I thought it was a solicitation call from the Bob Barker Company, because they do a cold call about once every 3-6 months to see if we want to order some more supplies from them. We haven't ordered from them in years, and that is who I thought was calling. So, I answered it and thought it was just going to be a routine situation.
When I answered the phone, the person on the other end asked if I was Tim. I cautiously answered to confirm that I was Tim. Then the person on the other end asked if I was Tim Sarych. Again, I confirmed my identity cautiously. I asked who it was calling and the person gave me his name. I am not going to mention his name here. This guy called me up to tell me that he remembered bullying me when I was in the eighth grade at Maple Grove Junior High. When he said this, I did not recognize his name or his voice at first. He had stated that he bullied a few people, but remembered how mean he was to me specifically. I told him that I honestly didn't remember it, but he did. He said there was one day where I was wearing cow patterned pants, and he made fun of me for wearing them. I told him that I believed I was wearing Zubaz that were black and white stripes, and he said that sounded right. His name and his face started coming back to my memory. He also claimed that he was so mean to me that I was almost giving him lunch money and that he was almost expelled for the treatment towards me. Again, I didn't remember this. He told me that he had thought about me from time to time over the years and was afraid that his treatment had done some permanent damage. I assured him that there were no lasting effects of his claimed treatment. Then, he apologized for his actions.
He said that he came across me on Linked In and felt a need to get a hold of me to apologize for his treatment about 30 years ago now. When he called, he said it was probably going to be the strangest phone call I had ever received. He also noticed on my Linked In profile that I am now a Behavior Interventionist and he asked me if that bullying experience contributed to the career path I went down. I told him no and that there were other reasons and influences for me choosing the career that I did. I again assured him that I had forgiven him for his choices of treatment back in the eighth grade and I told him that I was glad that we didn't have any of the technology that exists today back then. I told him that the cyber bullying issues that students deal with today compounds the issue times ten. He went on to say that he isn't on Facebook and he felt that as there are positives to social media, but he felt that the negatives outweighed the positives and made it not worth it. As the call wrapped up, I again assured him that he did no permanent damage with his bullying and that I appreciated his honesty and apology, and that I had forgiven him. He was glad to hear it, and that was the end of the call.
2020 has been a wild ride and we still have four months of it left. The slogan for the year without a doubt is, "Expect The Unexpected". Again, it shows that any day can bring a surprise.
Be kind to everyone.
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