Destiny Calls for Another Goodbye

I have been blessed with finding someone with a sense of adventure that matches mine. A little over two years ago, we were married. But since the day we met, we have imagined and deliberated on the time when we could move to a new place together, or even a new country.

We have traveled to at least one new place a year. Some were in the United States and one was to Greece. In three and a half short years of being together, our list of trips is one that I would say is pretty decent. We have been to places that he has dreamed of and some that I have. When we don’t have the financing or the time to make a big trip, we explore the area we live in or where our parents live. Every new experience is something I treasure so completely. Even those that are just around the corner.

I have never been happier than when I am seeing and doing something new. Destiny, fate, luck… whatever you want to call it. Something draws me to these new places and experiences. When it calls, I have no will.

Years ago, I came on a trip to Virginia with some friends. We spent a great, fun-filled weekend in the area. After only three days of being here, on the drive home to Pennsylvania, I made the decision that I just had to move to Virginia. That it was some place new that I just had to try. Another instance where destiny had a hand and I could do nothing but to follow, if even a little blindly. It took me all of three weeks to quit my job, find a place to live, coordinate a roommate and get myself moved. What an amazing experience it has been.

As of July, I have been in the DC area for five years. When I came, I started at a company I worked with back home as their account representative. I had heard so many good things and the opportunity was one that I couldn’t miss. At the time I went in for my interview, it was my first time in their office. Anyone could see instantly, all those wonderful things their previous and current staff had told me existed in their everyday atmosphere. The presidents, the team, the office itself exuded the right amount of professionalism and welcoming. The office was laidback but extremely organized. The people, smart and savvy with their techniques. It was a well-maintained, small company where everyone feels accountable for their projects and the company’s success. It was creative. And I couldn’t wait to add to it. The people that worked there were well-respected. The company itself is well-revered in their field. It was just what I was looking for. I began two weeks after the initial interview and here I stayed for all those years.

Those people that I met so many years ago on that interview day, they are still bosses and colleagues. But they have also grown to be friends. I have shared up and downs with them. There was a lot of laughter. There were a lot of tears. Some were work and some were life in general. Through it all, they became more and more important to me. This job, the people that I had spent so much time in the last five years, had become a family to me. This was the first job that I felt like I truly had a place. It was the first time I felt that the people I worked with understood and accepted me for the person I was, both professionally and personally.

In the 15 years I have been someone’s employee, this was the first place I really liked and wanted to work hard for. The first job I felt sincerely good about.

When we were told we were moving in January, there was nothing else for me to do but go and tell my “family” the big news the minute I put the phone down. Most people would hold off on telling their employer that there we leaving the company until the very last minute. That was never an option for me. They knew how badly we wanted this move. To not share that one of our dreams was coming true was unfathomable.

February came and I gave them my official, written notice. My final day is July 14th. Some days it can’t come soon enough. Others, I wish it would never get here.

I know that every employee is replaceable. However, I am hoping that those people that I spend five days a week with know that it is so much more than the job that I am leaving. While I do love the job and know that it will be hard to find another like it in the future, it is the friends I have made in this place of business that saddens me to leave behind. I wish that they feel the same way about me.

The company will find a perfect replacement to sit in my chair and fill my office and complete my tasks. But I pray they don’t find another me. Because I am sure I will never find another them.