Surprisingly emotional today

[JoeWras]

I'm about to find out. Today is the day.

Got weirdly choked up as I got in my car last night to leave one last "normal" day.

Ever since I really committed to leaving (about 1 year now), I think my attitude at work was more relaxed and I finally made more work friend connections than since I entered the workforce in the 80s. But they still are mostly superficial. Maybe I should have tried to put more time into it. Nah, probably not. New life ahead!

 

[marko]

Well, SumDay, looks like some day has come! Congrats.

I too left a job after 34 years. It's been part of you for over half your life! It's hard but it does get better.

It's a bit like having a friend or relative die in a way....you slowly get over it and get on with life.
You'll be fine.

I'm about to find out. Today is the day.

Congrats Joe! Keep us posted!

 

[street]

I wish you well and I can also tell you those feelings will go away.

I had a few more years then you with the same company so I will always have a place in my heart for those great years working there.

 

[scrabbler1]

My last day at work nearly 10 years ago was, mostly, a routine day. I did face some time pressure because the one main project I was working on I had to finish before I left. I got it done around 4 PM, 45 minutes before I was set to leave.


My best friend/coworker took me out to lunch at our favorite diner. I had rejected an offer to have a last-day luncheon held by other coworkers, as I had not attended any of theirs in 5 years (and only did that last one somewhat reluctantly because he was retiring after 37 years; he died 6 years later at age 66).


There was a brief gathering at my desk at about 3 PM and the people gave me the money they had raised for the luncheon in cash. It was about $160, a nice touch. I made a short speech which was a little tough but I got through it okay.


Where It became more difficult was on the long trip home on the trains. After packing up my personal items, I trudged out of the building, leaving my company ID card with the security people after going through the turnstiles. As I walked to the PATH trains (like a subway between NY and NJ, where my office was located), it began to hit me that this would be my last time on those trains.


Then came the longer ride on the LIRR. The last leg of the trip, the ~15-minute stretch between Jamaica station and my home station, I was close to losing it. My long, tiring, and sometimes sickening commute I had so despised for the last ~23 years was finally going to END. I surely didn't want to break down into tears in front a large group of fellow commuters.


I held it together as I left the train and began my short walk home. Now, I had some privacy, so I felt my eyes begin to well up, knowing this would be the last walk home from the station as a commuter (I have ridden the LIRR a few, very few, times since then).


I made it to my building and went upstairs to my apartment. I unlocked the door, went inside, and closed the door behind me. Now, with my Last Commute finally over, and behind closed doors, I dropped my stuffed tote bag to the floor, raised my arms, and, with some tears running down my face, yelled out...…….


"I'm FREE!!!!!"


That was Friday, October 31st, 2008. It might have been "Trick or Treat" for most people, but it was all treats for me!

 

[Pellice]

Wow, SumDay and Joe - it's here! SumDay, I want to hear sometime today or tomorrow if you STILL have a sense of melancholy - I'll bet it evaporates quickly.
And Joe - TODAY?! You were the starter of the Class of 2018 thread. You deserve this! I'll bet you won't be choked up today!!! It will go quickly. Please write back as soon as you can after leaving work. And like scrabbler1, I came home, got in the door, hugged my cat and started repeating "I'm FREE!!!!!"

And it's been better and better and better. Want to hear back from both of you!

I had no mixed emotions. Like some earlier poster on this site, I made my adjustment in the time it took to walk to my car.

 

[Mdlerth]

No sobs of regret here

I can only hope I'll feel choked up when my career ends. I don't expect to.

What I do expect is that memories better off forgotten will resurface. I guess that's because the bad ones were much, much worse than the best ones were good.

All the satisfying moments in a long career add up to maybe a hundred in the plus column. But decades of thankless tasks, sacrificed weekends, imbecilic managers and backstabbing colleagues add up to thousands in the minus column.

Friendships? They were genuine, but transient. People move in and out of both our professional and personal lives constantly. Relocations and deaths mean "out of sight, out of mind".

Accomplishments? Old news. Business has always been about "What have you done for me lately?"

Recognition? Far more promotions sought me than found me.

Yeah, when I hand in my pass the only emotion I'll be feeling is relief.

 

[Car-Guy]

I guess that I'm sad now, but won't be soon?

I wasn't really sad on my last day since I was really ready to go. Whatever feelings I may have had for the workplace faded on the way home while sitting in rush hour traffic for the last time.

 

[candrew]

The only emotion I felt was relief putting all the BS behind me, So I was standing on the train platform with the remnants of my retirement cake. This was the last time I was going to take that train, and I had a grin from ear to ear.

Your anecdote about the remnants of your retirement cake brought me a laugh.

At my previous empl*yment of 35 years, we used to joke that there were two types of departures for colleagues. There were "cakers" and "no-cakers". Cakers were leaving on their terms, typically with a publicized notice and invitation to an on-campus celebration. In addition to a celebratory gathering, a decorated cake was served to attendees.

As for the no-cakers - well you get my drift.

Congrats to you for departing as a Caker!

I qualified for Caker status, but explicitly requested that there be no retirement party. In my written notice of retirement I asked that I be allowed to leave as quietly on my last day of w*rk as I entered on the first 35 years previously. Instead, I spent my last month seeking out colleagues individually with whom I'd developed more personal working relationships to say good-byes and well wishes.

 

[SumDay]

Here I am on the final day. I had a solo call with my closest colleague this morning, and we both were pretty choked up. I feel bad leaving her with more work than one person can handle. My boss asked me to write him a "truthful review" of what he's doing right and wrong, with suggestions for improvement.

Not sure if he realized it, but this has been incredibly cathartic. The more I write, the more I realize I made the right decision. No one is indispensable, and megacorp will continue without me.

I'm still a little melancholy today, but not nearly as bad as I was yesterday after the group call.

Thanks everyone for all the comments and support. One of the many, many reasons I love this board. Oh $hit, now I'm getting misty again.

And congrats to Joe! We're retirement day twins.

 

[MichaelB]

SumDay, it sounds like a very nice way to bring this phase of your life to a conclusion and start the next.

 

[NW-Bound]

I'm about to find out. Today is the day.

Got weirdly choked up as I got in my car last night to leave one last "normal" day.

Ever since I really committed to leaving (about 1 year now), I think my attitude at work was more relaxed and I finally made more work friend connections than since I entered the workforce in the 80s. But they still are mostly superficial. Maybe I should have tried to put more time into it. Nah, probably not. New life ahead!

Congrats!

 

[Carpediem]

My boss asked me to write him a "truthful review" of what he's doing right and wrong, with suggestions for improvement.

I should have done something similar to this at the end of my last marriage. It would have been VERY cathartic!

Seriously, congrats on making it to the finish line. Must be pretty surreal.

 

[NW-Bound]

I maintain contact with only one coworker who has been my friend nearly the entire working life, and over 3 corporations with one of which we helped founded.

I still miss my work. I was born to do what I did for a living.

I do not miss the other people I worked with. Even with my only friend, we see each other only once a year, with only a couple of email exchanges.

 

[SumDay]

I still miss my work. I was born to do what I did.

NW-Bound, funny you should say this. When I was born, what I have done for the last 34 years didn't exist. But someone on the gang call yesterday said "you were born to do this". And I was. And I loved it, and I was good at it. But there's too much change coming with technology and the way our business is run, and I just didn't have it in me to go through another learning curve. So I'm going to now learn to relax and enjoy life.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm almost there, checking in at lunch.

It is all upbeat. All the crap and anger I've carried from time to time is gone. I'm super upbeat and it is rubbing off in my goodbyes. I've forgotten some of the crap. Others have brought it up cause I guess they still have to deal.

A full report later tonight.

 

[NW-Bound]

JoeWras, you should start your own thread to commemorate this one-a-lifetime event.

NW-Bound, funny you should say this. When I was born, what I have done for the last 34 years didn't exist. But someone on the gang call yesterday said "you were born to do this". And I was. And I loved it, and I was good at it. But there's too much change coming with technology and the way our business is run, and I just didn't have it in me to go through another learning curve. So I'm going to now learn to relax and enjoy life.

I played with vacuum tubes starting when I was 12. In my teenage years, taught myself about transistors (PNP germanium transistors were still popular). Learned Fortran and machine language in college, but taught myself C much later while working. A lot of engineering was just applied math and physics, and I never had to study that hard for these subjects.

Still trying to create projects for myself to do, so I can learn about these wonderful new chips that were not available when I stopped work.

 

[Clone]

I found that the last day was a bit emotional. Not because I was going to 'miss the corporate grind', but rather because I sensed that I had somehow found a seat on a lifeboat that was leaving and the rest of my associates (many of whom are still good friends) were left standing on the deck of the ship.


I thought I would have one of those 'what have I done' moments, but it never happened.

 

[Elbata]

Much respect to someone who leaves with the thoughtful comments of his colleagues.
Also respect to this wonderful board for all the kind words and support.

 

[Gumby]

Congratulations, Sumday and JoeWras.

I had a trial run for my exit yesterday and the day before. Due to some personnel moves, I changed offices. I had to clear out the old one to move to the new, which entailed closing out many, many old case files and sending them to bulk storage, as well as throwing away things that I know I will never use - reference books that have sat on my bookshelf for 26 years, that I have never consulted and are now hopelessly out of date, research files for obscure legal issues that I thought might arise again someday, legal education seminar handouts and the like. As I tossed each thing, I was reminded of the many things I have done, but how very little of real importance I have accomplished in all these years. It was a little melancholy, but I think it was good for me. I am now pared down to a minimum amount of stuff that I am actively working on, and when I walk out the door for good - nine months from tomorrow - I won't have to go through all that again.

 

[Bamaman]

Congratulations on a job well done. You are one of a dying breed--a 30+ year employee. Be thankful that you were allowed to leave on your own terms.

What feels like sadness will quickly turn to joy and happiness.the

Stay up half the night watching.felevision. Read.a.book. Sleep til noon. Take an extended.vacation. Doo what you wish as you are now in charge of yourself. And have a great life.

 

[HadEnuff]

I have to admit, I expected to feel more teary-eyed than I did. On the day I retired I was ending a 91 year family tradition of dentistry in a small Upstate NY town. The practice was started my grandfather in 1925, run by my uncle, and eventually my cousin and I. My cousin retired in 2014, and I in 2016. I found someone to take it over, but not a family member.

I expected this big emotional moment, however, it never happened. I don't know why. Some things get me that way. Sick children, pets, but not this. I guess I was ready.

However, I can see why it would have happened.

Congratulations on a job well completed. Enjoy your new life!

 

[JoeWras]

JoeWras, you should start your own thread to commemorate this one-a-lifetime event.

Congratulations, Sumday and JoeWras.

Actually, it is kind of nice to share it with someone. My twin, Sumday!

So, it is finished. I'm DONE!

My last was great. I think I learned a few things about myself. Although I've had [-]some[/-] a lot of anger about things at Megacorp, it really boils down the the machine. The people I work with are a good group. Sure, a few of them do a few questionable things to get ahead, but that is more about the machine than the person. And besides, I didn't really work with those folks anyway. I'm fortunate to work with a lot of mature people who are enough over-the-hill or just downright good people such that they don't bring out the backstabbing.

We had a little party and DW got to meet these people she's heard of all these years. I got to send off my final email, and got many gracious replies, and more than a few honest "you inspire me and are showing the way, I'm committed to be right behind you" replies.

So it's done. Why bother worrying about the crap anymore? I celebrated the many good things of my career, life, co-workers and yes, even Megacorp. I gotta be positive. Why not? I'm free!

Emotion? Yep, got choked up at my send off and probably put my foot in my mouth. That's OK, it was honest.

But I'll tell you what I really celebrated. My last commute. There's something I won't miss! With school back now, it absolutely sucked. No More Commute. The thought of that makes me cry more than anything!

 

[HadEnuff]

Actually, it is kind of nice to share it with someone. My twin, Sumday!

So, it is finished. I'm DONE!

My last was great. I think I learned a few things about myself. Although I've had [-]some[/-] a lot of anger about things at Megacorp, it really boils down the the machine. The people I work with are a good group. Sure, a few of them do a few questionable things to get ahead, but that is more about the machine than the person. And besides, I didn't really work with those folks anyway. I'm fortunate to work with a lot of mature people who are enough over-the-hill or just downright good people such that they don't bring out the backstabbing.

We had a little party and DW got to meet these people she's heard of all these years. I got to send off my final email, and got many gracious replies, and more than a few honest "you inspire me and are showing the way, I'm committed to be right behind you" replies.

So it's done. Why bother worrying about the crap anymore? I celebrated the many good things of my career, life, co-workers and yes, even Megacorp. I gotta be positive. Why not? I'm free!

Emotion? Yep, got choked up at my send off and probably put my foot in my mouth. That's OK, it was honest.

But I'll tell you what I really celebrated. My last commute. There's something I won't miss! With school back now, it absolutely sucked. No More Commute. The thought of that makes me cry more than anything!

Have a great Fu*@ing Day tomorrow!!

 

[Pellice]

SumDay and Joe Wras, congratulations! And I'm going to send a message on Sunday (or maybe Monday, since it's a holiday), ideally around 3 pm, saying, "Do you realize you don't have to get ready for work tomorrow?"

 

[SumDay]

SumDay and Joe Wras, congratulations! And I'm going to send a message on Sunday (or maybe Monday, since it's a holiday), ideally around 3 pm, saying, "Do you realize you don't have to get ready for work tomorrow?"

Lol!!!