An Open Letter to my Mentor

I remember back in the 80's when I ordered a book from one of those black and white full page ads in the back of Seventeen Magazine. The book was $15 (Oye! So much Hanukkah money!) and it said that it would teach me how to get a boyfriend. I sent them a money order but the book never came. Luckily, I eventually got a boyfriend on my own. Maybe I should write a book?

Point being, there aren't many people you can trust out there. Honest people are hard to come by, and what's more, role models are few and far between. Unless of course you're in the 14 & under category. And even then, Miley Cyrus hasn't much to offer.

You could imagine my excitement then, when a cynic like me found a mentor! She came in the form of my boss and she didn't hate me! We were off to a smashing start.

My mentor (let's call her M) was there for me through every step of my new career. From the interviewing process when I almost didn't make the cut because I wore shorts, to the insistence on my part to wear flip flops to the workplace as often as possible. In retrospect, the majority of our disagreements were all fashion related. This only confirms the fact that she was the perfect fit for the mentor role right from the start.

I learned more than I could've imagined from M, and took advantage of every moment spent in the presence of what I saw (and what she'd roll her eyes at) as greatness.

On top of being the boss, M the person was kind and generous. When I sprained my ankle, M lent me her top of the line crutches. When I badly injured myself in a high speed rollover, M provided me with ample amounts of Arnica. (Is it obvious yet that I am a huge liability?). M even sent me to France on a trip that I otherwise would've never been given (a.k.a: a free trip to France).

You could imagine then, that the day M announced the company had been sold to "The Man" and she would be leaving, i was crushed. M assured me we'd remain close friends. "HA!" i thought. What would a classy CEO want to do with a girl who, as she currently sits writing this, is wearing her ex-boyfriends torn pyjama pants and watching reruns of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" with a bag of skittles. I assumed M was just being kind to this sad little e-marketing specialist who left the office that day in tears.

Like I had done several years earlier when *N Sync broke up, i put on a brave face and kept working hard. A new CEO would soon be in place and my A game had to be put forward - I would, after all, be starting from scratch. Besides, M would've wanted it that way and would likely expect nothing less.

So that's what I did.

Well- as luck would have it, M carried through on her promise of keeping in touch. In fact, M has become more of a BF than a CEO and as it turns out, I am quite pleased with this arrangement! Now I get to shop with M, instead of getting people to shop from M. I can have lunch with her without changing the lunch room schedule. And talking tennis has evolved to watching tennis! Though unfortunately for those with seats next to hers, there is still a lot of talking involved.

I am very much enjoying my new friend. And quite frankly, still learning plenty.

Of course it's not the same as having her around daily. But like the phony ad placement people who stole my $15 in '88 taught me, that's life.

Even M would agree... $15 well spent.