27 Years and Two Boxes

My last day of work was Friday.

As much as I was ready to be gone, the people in the office made it hard to leave.  They brought in cake and balloons and all gathered to see me off.  My remote team sent a beautiful bouquet of cookies.

I had hoped to leave by noon, but as usual, the mobility feed didn't cooperate - it was the reason I was there in the office last week, and it lived up to it's usual troublesome self.  I finally finished it shortly after two - then spent the next two hours cheerfully throwing things in the trash.  Files?  Gone (both electronic and paper)!  Chances are no one really cares about my phone bill reimbursement receipts from 1996 anyhow.  Nor much about the e-mail exchange between myself and the server team when it had a hardware failure in 2007.  What can I say.

At the end of the day, the things I took with me filled barely two boxes.  The memories though - they have been coming back to fill my thoughts to overflowing all weekend.  I started there just out of college - fresh-faced, grateful for the job, eager to prove my worth to the Business World.  I left tired, ready for a break, but content in the knowledge I'd done well in my years there.  I learned a lot, and contributed my share and then some.  I made a lot of good friends, and found there were very few people I couldn't work with if I set my will to it.

I drove out of the parking lot for the last time with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face.  Richer in many ways for the years I'd spent working - and more than ready to face my camper van adventure.