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Merry Christmas/ happy 2022 etc.
Since it’s that time of year again, thought I should share this.
Back in my days of working for a Big 6 energy company (based in UK) I was still relatively new.
one day I got a call not too long after Christmas, I’d guess maybe a week or so afterwards?
Customer calls up to give meter readings, she sounds a bit agitated and not in the best mood. I’m thinking ‘uh oh, she’s going to kick off’.
Customer suddenly begins crying and says how her father died on Christmas day (or possibly Eve, was a while back) and how things have been difficult for her around this time of year.
Me:
‘I’m so sorry to hear that. As it happens I used to work inputting details of death certificates (temporary job ages ago), i.e. checking if a person was deceased. I probably saw a few thousand death certificates and I noticed that more people die around Christmas than any other time of year. No matter how many times I saw the date of death as Christmas day/ within a day or so that etc, it would make me feel deep sympathy for the family.
Customer stopped crying and seemed to cheer up a bit, think she was surprised to hear that it was so common.
So that was the day I became a bereavement counsellor for a moment. On a tangent, it is humbling to process death certificates- for anyone who’s not seen a UK one, it shows their occupation/ retired from occupation. I saw every occupation from a coal miner to two husband and wife psychiatrists.
Anyway hope everyone’s well in 2023.
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