Today was my last day of work in my old department.  I stayed in this position three years longer than I should have, but did so because the schedule gave me the flexibility to care for my mother.  It got to the point that I was really bored, not so much bored I guess than just really burnt out and the lack of advancement in my career was really starting to eat at me.

For the last six or so years I’ve been though a lot with my coworkers.  When you stop to think about it, in most cases you spend more time with the people you work with than you do with your own family.  During my time in this department I earned an MBA, got married, gained 20 lbs, lost 20 lbs, lost a best friend and my mother.  I was thankful for having some great coworkers to go through those times with.  It was a small way of saying thanks, but I actually brought in breakfast for my team which is something that never really happens for this group.

I’ve been looking forward to this last day of work for quite a while – a validation that I was finally going to move on.   Most of it was spent going through old materials and packing up.  The day ended with a meeting, and at the end each person in front of everyone shared a story about me and wished me the best of luck in this new chapter of life.

As I said good-bye and walked out, I could hear them applauding.  I looked back and they all stood and waved me off.  That really warmed my heart.  I’m gonna miss seeing those folks everyday.