I feel a strange sense of loss

Wednesday night was our private farewell at our original boss's home, for our retiring staff member. Yesterday afternoon we had the public drop-in farewell at a campus pub. (THAT was like old home week, with all the retired and semi-retired mucky-mucks coming by, including a former Principal who/whom I so wish was still head of our university.)

And that's it. Our co-worker's last day was yesterday, though he'll be in on a weekend or two to clear out his space, once he's back from his trip to a warmer region, to golf.

It's funny...I didn't think I'd care. He and I communicate in totally different ways, and though he's the most personable and social of our group, and fun to be around, I've found working with him irritating from time to time. Normal, I suppose, for us all. (I know I can be annoying and irritating too.)

But I realized yesterday evening that I've been with this group of co-workers for longer than most of my friendships/other relationships. I have a girlfriend in another province who's my "oldest" friend (since I was 18), and a couple of other people in this area I've known for about 25 years, though we've mostly gone separate paths now. Even my ex and I were together only 9 - 10  years.

So while I'm truly happy for this person's retirement, it really is the end of an era in our unit. (Of course, the reorg three years ago and the recent physical move of the new group into our space has meant the end of "our department" anyway.)

I miss the "old" days, the "glory" days -- the heyday of our early years, with that particular Principal, before the top administrative structure of the university changed, before everything got flushed down the toilet, so to speak.

Yet, it's another day...and some of us still need to work for a long time yet!

Magnolia bud, snapped yesterday. Will it survive tomorrow's snowstorm? LOL.