Today was my last day at work and it was … weird.
Usually when you leave a job or role you have something new to go to andyou’re excited about that. This time around it was a case of leaving nowbecause I cannot remember how to do all the things that I used to be able to doin my sleep.
This disease really does creep up slowly and then I have a feeling at somepoint it will move very quickly. In discussions with staff members arounddementia they all agreed that at the end their loved one was peaceful and readyto go. I’m holding on that.
I will miss being in the kitchen with 13 teenagers who still somehow manageto produce amazing dishes. I will miss talking with teenagers and borrowingsome of their boundless energy and zest for life.
Above all I will miss my ‘unicorn’ students – these are the students whohave a hard time academically at their usual school. They were able to come toUCOL and take classes that were “hands on”. Many of those students bloomed andexcelled in the new teaching environment and I had a student pass her coursethis year and it’s only the second course she has passed – ever!
Last week I mentioned to her lecturer that she usually has reader/writersupport at school. The lecturer was blown away and never would have picked thatup. Right there is why I loved this job so much. UCOL was a place for them toreinvent themselves and/or excel with gifts they already had doing things likemakeup & skincare, cooking or construction.
As I said goodbye to my boss I realized that over the past few months I havebeen saying a lot of goodbyes and that sums up this journey for me. It hasforced me to stop and reimagine my life which is never a bad thing and I am soblessed to be able to stop working at all, many cannot.
So my future will be filled with things like gardening, baking, hanging outwith a dog, writing, working at a second hand shop, more time with my familyand lots and lots of time with Greg.
Greg gave me a card years ago which says it all really. I had it on my deskfor the past few years and it reads “If I had known I would get to spend therest of my life with you he said I would have started the rest of my life muchsooner.”