The day I gave my notice at work, one of the lawyers I work for (James) received confirmation that he was accepted for a new job – outside the department. I was shocked when I found out that James would also be leaving Justice because he has been with the department for almost 14 years, he is our team leader, he is calm, cool, collected, intelligent, admired and respected – and he is the perfect fit for the team and the department. I also find the timing ironic because after working together all these years, neither of us had any idea the other was even thinking of leaving.
James and I have worked together for most of the 10 years that I’ve been with Justice and we have become friends as well as coworkers. My last day isn’t until June 6th but James’ last day was today. I don’t work Fridays so our last day working together was yesterday. This week has had its sad moments. One morning, I even woke to tears trickling down my cheek as I was dreaming that my daughter and I were having breakfast with James.
Over the years I’ve been with Justice, I’ve taken thousands of photos at work and when I learned that James was leaving, I decided to put together an album for him as a keepsake/memory. I’ve spent many hours over the last few weeks going through those thousands of photos, choosing my favorites and tweaking each one individually. When the task was complete, I sent the photos out for printing and chose a black album with white writing on the front that says, “Cherish Life’s Memories”.
In the end, it was all worth it. Our team went for lunch with James on Wednesday and presented him with a few gifts, including the album. He loved it!
James will join us for my goodbye lunch, probably mid-late May. Our team is a close knit group and James said to me yesterday that he’s sure we’ll be invited back for future potlucks and get togethers. I’m sure that’s true and it helps ease the finality of this particular goodbye.
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