Dear Friends are Leaving

There is always sadness when a friend leaves or moves on.  One hopes they stay in contact, remaining a part of your life, filling a part of the hole you feel in your heart after they ripped it out.  In a few weeks this will be compounded several fold for me, as the entire business I worked for leaves the city to set up in another location an hour away.  All my girls are leaving.

For twenty years I have watched young women come into the business and learn how to dress, develop a work ethic, get married, divorced, and have children.  No lecherous guy of 40, waiting to prey on the innocence of youth, not my style.  These were my girls, and my family at work.  These were the people I laughed and cried with, and when the HR department said there would be no inappropriate physical contact, we would sneak a hallway hug in quiet, peaceful, civil disobedience. 

The girls would search me out for counsel in their love life, or just to bleed on me as they vented about a husband without a clue.  We would discuss career, kids and recipes.  I cannot count the number of babies I have listened to and felt kick prior to birth, then watched grow into teenagers.  Children of my coworkers that grew up and got married, now having babies of their own.

And there were a few beautiful personalities, men and women, who came into our lives only to die, all too young, from violence or poor health.  Some survived bouts with cancer, while some passed on in their sleep.  All will be missed.

Now that I’m 60, in a few weeks 20 years of smiles will go away, the cheerful morning greetings, and the warm hugs.  No more morning fashion shows, commenting on new hair styles, or seeing how short of a skirt they can get away with.  In a few weeks I don’t just lose a friend or two, or three, I lose a family.  This will be tough. I’m sure I will cry as I have no idea how I could possibly prevent it.  These are people I love dearly, and have loved for years.  My daughters and my friends are moving away.

For all of them I wish the best of futures.  Some will be retiring, some will move on to other jobs closer to home, some will tough out the commute, but all of them will remain in my heart and my memories for years to come.  I hope to see some of them occasionally, if just to catch up for a few minutes, and to get a warm hug. 

I love them all.