Yesterday was my last day at work. It ended up being a very emotional day but I survived. It started at 11:30 am with cake and punch with 250 co-workers. Right before we went to the assembly area I told my wife "this is how it must feel right before you are executed". She agreed, then we proceeded to the assembly area.
My boss gave a short thank you speech and then it was my turn to speak. I swear I had no idea what was going to come out of my mouth. My wife told me later that it sounded good and everything made sense. I just barely kept my composure at the end of the speech. They gave me a real nice gift and I shook everyone's hand and we said our goodbyes. I then had lunch with the company owner and his son which was very pleasant. I have worked for the company owner for 40 years and we frequently had lunch together so the lunch was no big deal.
Anyway, he invited my wife and I to go out to dinner with his family after work. When I showed up at the local country club I was led to a private banquet room where 80 people jumped up and yelled surprise. I almost had a heart attack on the spot. I was totally shocked at the cross section of people assembled to celebrate my retirement. They had put together a photo slide show of various things I was involved with over the years which ran the entire evening.
Then drinks and a real nice meal. Then more drinks and more gifts. Amongst other things included a $1000 set of golf clubs and a reproduction of a painting of the owner, two other start up employees, and myself in front of our first facility. I had turned in my master key in the day before so they presented me with a card with the key attached in case I change my mind. There was much more, but I won't take the space to describe everything in this post.
It ended up being a very good day, and when I woke up this morning I felt as though the weight of the world was gone. And I feel great. I am very much looking forward to my new life. I also want to thank the members of this forum who through there support, encouragement, and posts, helped me get thru this experience.