Today was my last day at work. I’m not good at formal, permanent good-byes. My face oscillates between cheerful grins and woebegone grimaces. I laugh. I repeat myself. I may murmur nonsense. If there’s a compliment or tender sentiment, I’ll sigh “Awwwwwwww.”
Today, as I forked berry cheesecake into my mouth at my late morning farewell celebration, I discovered that these bizarre mannerisms are exacerbated by sugar. At least I was way too hyper to get overly emotional. If my former colleagues of 5 1/2 years thought that my constant insane chuckling was amiss, surely they were disturbed when I squawked “I can’t believe that I’m totally, like, unemployed for the next week!”
Really, though. I have the next week off and I feel really, really weird and unfettered. And sad. Too frequently in life, we discover how much we care about something only when we part from it.
But I’ll survive. And I’ll listen to the mourning doves near my balcony, drink my beer, peck away these words, and find solace in Seuss, who said “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
