“Parting is such sweet sorrow” - Shakespeare…. It has been awhile since my English classes and I am unsure of the proper way to give credit for the quote yet I hope I have done it justice. “What Fools these mortals be” another favorite but one that really has no place here. I have joined the masses of the unemployed due in some part to the current economic crisis. How sad it is to say good-bye to a company that has treated me so well and the people that have been a part of my life through one of my most cherished moments. In my case the birth of my twins (even calling them while in labor) and a baby shower, car accident and numerous other highs and lows that only they will know. To say good-bye is so hard and bittersweet. I leave behind a chapter of friends and coworkers that I hope to keep in contact with but that I know in a few months will dwindle to an occasional e-mail. The fact that I have stayed in touch with coworkers, before this, in some way I hope means that I have made an impression on lives for the better.
As I look at my twins and think that in the next few weeks they may crawl or say a word I can not help but be a little happy that I may be the one to witness these milestones instead of a daycare worker. In these precious life moments I am somewhat thankful for my loss of employment for these are the memories I will cherish for years to come, and yet I will search for my next position knowing I may never find a company that is the same, or a group of people that care so much about my work rewards and my personal ones as well.
I will have other positions and other coworkers that I will be close with but I leave behind the ones that were there when I needed an endless supply of tums, that let me cut to the front of the line for the microwave as starvation haunted me, who joked that I was always heading for the restroom, who let me eat while the head of the company gave a speech, who watched me waddle to the end of a twin pregnancy and supported me with words, hugs and even sometimes tears. I have friends that have been with me since my training wheels but they did not see me everyday and grow with me on my journey to motherhood.
I will miss the laughing the singing (oh yes we sang) and the people that somehow fit into my life at this stage. As I packed my office and said my goodbyes I was happy and sad, sad to see them go and happy to know that my boys were waiting for me, that I am in fact a mom that can do no wrong for them yet. As I carried out the pictures of my family and my babies I did not look back but only forward knowing an impression has been left on my office and that they have left one on me.
