my heart aches.

the last two days have been the hardest days of my life. with each and every partner i’ve seen our shifts are greeted with teary eyed hugs and “i’m sorry’s” that don’t make it hurt any less. i keep looking at the door, waiting for you to walk in and say hello. the last time i saw you, you wrapped me in a giant hug while i was dripping wet and hunched over the dishes sink. that was only a few days ago.

nothing feels right. every single person in my store is filled with grief and sorrow at the loss of such an inspiring and kind human. you meant the world to us and our family isn’t the same without you. the community board has been replaced by words of loss and sorrow as we pay tribute to your life and write out our peace for the community to see.

phone calls and texts to others to get your shifts covered feel so wrong. you aren’t sick, or have an emergency or what have you - you’re gone. our DM walked in today with flowers, and every person on the floor burst into tears. i can’t count how many people i’ve cried with the last two days.

i know you wouldn’t want us to be this sad, but the world lost a really great dude this week, and our family isn’t the same without you here. we love you buddy. we miss you.

edit: thank you so much for your kind words, everyone. we had grief counselors in store this afternoon, and went out to dinner as a team to enjoy spaghetti - he was just talking about cooking us all spaghetti dinner with homemade sauce from his garden.

i never post on reddit, and i just came back to this post to it being the the top post on this subreddit today and an outpouring of support. 11 awards…the angel number. i’m in tears. i don’t have the strength to reply to each and every one of you today, but i saw each and every message, reply, award, upvote. it brings me immense joy to know so many partners took the time to read my cries into the depths of the internet. thank you. thank you. i love each and every one of you.

out of respect for our dear friend, i chose to maintain anonymity in this post while so many people mourn. in the coming weeks, i may share with you all a photo of our memorial board with you all to express the beauty of the connection our partner created in all of us. for now, i humbly thank each and every person who took the time to hear me, share some love, and upvote this post to the skies. i am proud to be your partner.