I'm taking a break from packing to eat some dinner one last time at the brewery across the street. I don't think it's all going to fit in my car. I guess that is fine. I can prioritize. I have to come back again anyway.
I was sitting around a table full of colleagues for lunch. I think there were 17 of us. I couldn't talk to everyone at once. I caught the eyes of the colleague who I have the greatest respect for and my eyes watered. He doesn't usually go to these things but he was here today. I've never had a better working relationship with anyone. There are very few people in my life who have earned the level of respect and admiration I have for him. And he demonstrated what a truly reciprocal relationship looks like.
A retired colleague gave me a glass swan with a card that described how a swan is so beautiful and graceful from above but is often paddling furiously below. She used to occupy the office next to me.
There was a moment when I stood in the hall back at the office with two women who had walked with me through it all. They had witnessed me crying in their offices in my lowest moments and witnessed me dance for joy as the beautiful life I was building started to form. They had listened, encouraged, advised, and sometimes just sat with me. It was a reminder of how many people have walked with me over these last couple of years.
I will admit I lingered a bit. Never again would I see them all in this context. I didn't want to miss a moment.
And then after turning in my laptop, I walked home. As I passed through the park, the Great Blue Heron was standing just off the path as if he was waiting for me. How many times had he watched me walk through the park? How many times had I paused to admire him? I paused one last time.
No comments:
Post a Comment