“To my colleagues who may read this, thank you so much for your kindness.  Thank you for opening your home up for my farewell and for the amazing cheesecake.  Thank you to my colleague who gave the most heartfelt speech.  You’ll never know how much it truly meant to me.   To my previous supervisor, you were the best, and I hope I get to work with you again.  To all of my colleagues, I miss you terribly — which is a reflection of how much of an impact you’ve had on me professionally and personally.  Thank you for everything.”

It’s been three and a half weeks since I left my old job.   This is just so hard for me to believe.  Time has flown by exponentially.   When I was offered my new role I was so excited, and I couldn’t believe it.  I had been in my current position for over 16 years; I never thought I would leave.  I was prompted when one of the best supervisors was offered another opportunity.  I couldn’t imagine life in the office without her, and I began to be weary of office politics so I decided to move on.   My colleague with whom I shared a portfolio congratulated me and asked what I wanted for my farewell.  

I decided that I didn’t want anything.  I told him I thought any farewell would be fake.  We had several farewells over the past few months, and I didn’t want a recycled speech from current management.   After all, they had only known me for under a year, and really hadn’t worked with me at all.   What would they actually say? I told my colleague, I was fine having lunch with our typical lunch crowd for a goodbye.  I didn’t need anything fancy.   I was happy just being with some of my closest colleagues.  Little did I know a weekend event was being planned for me.   

My colleagues asked me to attend a barbecue.  I was so excited!  I wasn’t sure if I would be able to attend at first, but things worked out.  I was able to tell my friends that I could make it.  It was so nice to be with them and meet their families.   My colleague that I worked directly with bought me beautiful red flowers (does anyone know what they were called?), but red is my favorite color so they were absolutely perfect.   I wasn’t expecting that.   We had great food and conversation.   I was by all accounts very happy.   Then, later on, I decided I should leave.   I was ready to go, and I didn’t want to leave too late because I was not familiar with the neighborhood and wanted to get a head start while there was still daylight.   They told me, I couldn’t leave before dessert.  So, I decided to stay. Our fellow colleagues, my old supervisor, and family members all gathered in the kitchen.  

While I was standing there my colleague showed me this picture of a fist bump, and on the back was a nice note from my previous supervisor (who was also there), and signatures from all my fellow colleagues. I thought it was so cool.  It’s symbolic because he gave me a fist bump after I made the announcement, that I was going to leave at one of our team meetings.  There were two sticks on it, so he could place it in the rich chocolate cheesecake that a former colleague had made.   Then he started to speak.  I was in awe, as he talked about how I came to work with him on the portfolio, and the level of appreciation and respect he had for the work I did.   It was by far the most genuine speech at a farewell that I ever had during my whole career in my organization.  I have moved from office to office for over 20 years, and I never received anything so sincere and genuine.  Not ever.   

I don’t think I even knew what to do with myself after that.  My heart was so full.   I told him that I didn’t want anything fake, and he (along with colleagues) made sure to give me the most genuine farewell ever. Nothing fake about it.   I was able to surround myself with the colleagues I cherished, was given the most amazing speech, and to top it off, can we talk about the cheesecake (amazingly rich and chocolate)?!  I shared this story with my friends (outside the office), because I felt so much joy afterwards.  That whole weekend into my final days in my old office were filled with so much love!  I always doubt myself and my ability to do anything.  I always worry about making mistakes, and sometimes I feel like I am just wasting space or taking up air.  Knowing that I made an impact in that office, and that it mattered just means the world to me.   

It feels amazing to be appreciated.  I hope that someone in your life (whether it’s work, school, church or your own home) tells you how much you are appreciated.  I hope they tell you how much you mean to them, or how much it means to them that you did something impactful for them.  It truly is the most awesome feeling.  May you have the most genuine experiences that leave you with joy and your heart feeling full.