The nature of goodbyes

Before a trip of any significant length, there is an inevitable process of saying goodbye. It is lovely to spend time with friends and family before a trip and it does seem to focus your energy when spending time with people pre-trip to perhaps say some of the slightly deeper things on your mind... you know, just in case one or more of us perish during the 6 months' away. Personally, I'm planning to live through it, but I guess you never know.

This Sunday afternoon, for example, will be spent at a city hotel's afternoon buffet with Phil's grandmother for some quality time which also features cake - bonus!

In the weeks leading up to a long trip, the end of an evening with a friend always seems to end with the same line, 'so, will I see you again before you go?', followed by some high level mental calendar-related arithmetic figuring out whether you will actually be able to fit in at least a coffee - and ends with all parties agreeing to definitely fit one in. It's nice to have people around you who you really will miss and with whom a last coffee is important.

Having spent the last 6 months on a secondment, it means that the people I am saying goodbye to this week are people who I have known for only 6 months, but I have enjoyed the company of my little team enormously. I will miss the silliness and laughs that seems to be part of almost every day. I've also had the opportunity to work with many different people to different degrees and really enjoyed feeling like a part of the broader team.

I have had only positive experiences and responses from this secondment for the whole 6 months... well almost. Apparently, one person (who I have worked together with on a one-on-one basis at least once) decided they did not know me well enough to sign a good-bye card... and refused to sign it. Now I love a giant goodbye card - I have kept every one I've ever received and I will keep this card in my special keepsake box. So I have decided (after the stitch in my side subsided from p*ssing myself at the pettiness of someone who wouldn't trouble themselves to write "All the best") to fill it in myself...

It will read: Dear Susannah, All the best, Regards [redacted].

Ha, you can't get out of signing my farewell card so easily...