Thank You Letter to my Former Good Bosses

A Letter to my Former Good Bosses,

Recently, I ran into one of you and shared in some stories over drinks I expressed thanks but there’s never enough gratitude to express all that you’ve done for me in just a quick conversation. So for all of you out there who’ve helped me along with this journey please share in my gratefulness of support. 

Thank you for providing me with just enough of a challenge to ensure that I learned from your pointed criticism on areas to improve in my written and briefing products.

Thank you for accepting me back with grace and calmness when I failed Jumpmaster school and even still, pushing me to take that assignment as the only female in an infantry brigade.

Thank you for having my back when I heard the slurs of cunt and bitch thrown around. I was there when you shut them up and I’ll never forget how great that felt to have your support.

Thank you for expressing how I beat you in a 10 km race and the humility you took to admit it, but also the pride that your troop beat you.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to brief the highest ranking person in the Division and giving me the tools to stand on my own feet when challenged; appreciated the back up when my analysis didn’t meet muster.

Thank you for confronting other bosses who rated a ranger tab as a predictor of success; your comeback that women should get two extra qualification points because they have two breasts is forever etched in my mind as the best comeback.

Thank you for understanding when I couldn’t deploy for the third time because I was pregnant, after having a miscarriage, and couldn’t wait to become a Mom.

Thank you for allowing me to serve with the same zest while also coming to work exhausted from raising this new little human who challenged my lack of sleep more than any deployment or field exercise I’d ever experienced.

Thank you for seeing the fear in my eyes when I admitted my husband suffered from PTSD and it wasn’t getting better; you noticing helped me get help.

Thank you for understanding that leaving my two children to deploy was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my entire life. Your grace in providing me that extra opportunity to see my children for one more day kept me going.

Thank you for being there when I went through my divorce and kindly letting me go to the lawyers office, attend mediation, and for that time to clear my head after the divorce was finalized. Your patience, understanding, and clarity during that tumultuous time gave me the strength I needed to soldier forward.

Thank you for your empathy when I had to get my children from their daycare due to a rash, or vomiting, or pink eye, or the myriad of other things children get and cause a parent to miss work. 

Thank you for allowing a single mother to take command and not once mentioning it. The whispering in the neighborhood was rampant but you never once annotated it as a detriment. 

Thank you for investing in me with your time and advice. Your resolve to keep me in my line of work and making an exception to policy maintained my employment with your organization.

Thank you for continuing to challenge me and understanding the shift in this next transition point in my life. Your understanding of my priorities and the importance of keeping both family and work co-located made my decisions clearer.

Lastly, thank you for inspiring me to become the best boss I could be. I appreciate you for all that you’ve done and I’m forever grateful.

Candice