The End of An Era

Today was my last day of work at BBH.  It is a day that has been about three years in coming, when the whole story is told.  Today I left the office with my hands full, but none of the bags included a laptop nor my trusty notebook.  No, today I took home the pictures, calendars and other items that decorated my cubicle.

I have no regrets, no second thoughts about my/our decision for me to leave BBH, and I'm so thankful for that.  It is the right decision for us now, and I'm glad we/I have finally moved ahead with the decision.  But today was still a sad day.  I took all the papers off my wall.  I sent out some farewell emails.  I was treated to lunch, and given a lovely gift.

See?

It is a jade pendant, although the colouring doesn't show well on the picture.

And then I made the rounds through the office, talking to each of my co-workers.   Twenty-six people, other than myself, work in that office.  Five of them were part of the Intellitech team when I started working there after graduation, and the other 21 joined over the years, and today I said farewell to 17 of them (four of them out of the office today).   I shared a few words, sometimes a hug and even tears with each of them.  Then I collected my bags and left before I lost it completely.  And that's it.  An afternoon of goodbyes and it is over.  Oh, I'll go back to visit now and then, but it won't be the same.

Some of these people I have worked with for over 10 years.  I know them so well.  We've shared different life events together at certain level, for those of my co-workers who have kids I've watched (from a distance) as the kids grow and change via the changing pictures on the wall.  I will miss these people, they've been a big part of my life for such a long time, and you don't just cut it off. 

But the corner has been turned.  And I'm glad of that.  I'm looking forward to what God is going to provide, and my prayer now is that He will open doors, show me doors that are open and show me how I shoud be serving Him at this stage of my life.  Let me know if you know of any opportunities that might be a good fit!