Closing Time

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Yeah. (And yes, that's from the song by Semisonic.)

It's done. I had feared that the final parting would be indistinguishable from the usual going-home-from-work scenario (see previous post), but thanks to colleagues and friends, it turned out to be a memorable and endearing experience.

I really wish I didn't have to go, and that's largely because these people have been like family to me.  The magnitude of this change has not yet even sunk in to me yet. It's like a part of me still believes that I'll be going to work tomorrow and see them all again.  

It's hard to accept that you'll no longer be part of something that you've intensely dedicated yourself to, because by then, that something will already have been part of who you are.  And letting it go and moving on is like losing an arm to grow a new one.

There will be homesickness and nostalgia. But there will also be friendship -- and that will stay long after the homesickness and nostalgia are gone.