💬 The worst week of my year came and I got through it fine

Last week was supposed to be the worst of my year. Month end, an audit visit and a new manager. All of it landed between Sunday and Thursday here in Jeddah. On Saturday night I told my brother I was finished. He said, you say that every month. I said this time I mean it. He said, okay, call me Friday. I slept 4 hours on Sunday and went in expecting a disaster. Machine coffee, 2 files open, shoulders up near my ears. Monday the auditor asked for 6 months of invoices. I had them in 1 folder. Nobody was more shocked than me. Tuesday the new manager changed a report format at 4 pm and wanted it by 6. I sent it at 5:40. He looked at his watch and then at me. I looked at my watch too. Neither of us said anything. I kept waiting for the crash, the way you wait for a lift that's stuck between two floors. Wednesday the system went down for 2 hours. I fixed my part, left the rest to the IT boys and went for lunch. Before, I'd have sat there refreshing the screen and sweating. This time I ate a full plate of kabsa. Thursday I walked out at 6 with an empty inbox. A man at the bus stop asked if I'd won something. I said no, I just finished work. He looked at me like I was lying. Friday my brother called and asked how it went. I said fine. He said, fine? You said you were finished. I said I know what I said. He laughed for about a minute. I let him. Next month end is in 3 weeks. I'm already dreading it, so don't think I've changed. But this week was supposed to ruin me and it didn't. I'm saving that thought for the 28th.

Six months of invoices in 1 folder is the quiet kind of win nobody posts about. Before my last review I kept a plain notebook with the date and result of every task I finished, and the manager asked to photocopy it. That kind of preparation never gets noticed until the day it is needed. Did the new manager say anything after the audit, or just nod and move on?

Same thing happened to me during an audit 2 years ago, and I went in expecting the worst.