Saturday 28 February 2009

I'm officially unemployed!

It was a bittersweet day yesterday as I faced the reality of leaving work and all the people I've come to know and like. As is my usual trick, I spent the entire day second-guessing my decision, trying to work out if I really had done the right thing. Just as I would start thinking that working there wasn't that bad, the micro-managing cow would stick her spoke in again, sending me back to counting down the minutes 'til I was out of there.

During the course of the day, many people came to find me and tell me I wasn't allowed to leave because they didn't know what they would do without me there to help them. After receiving the response of "I'm only one person and I'm not irreplaceable", they would then proceed to tell me how I was the only person who would help everytime they asked, without ripping their heads off. I thought I had done my fair share of ranting and raving at work but they obviously weren't taking me seriously .. lol! I also received phone calls from people at other stores that I had worked with during my time there, wishing me all the best and lamenting the fact that they weren't going with me.

I'm usually very calm and controlled at work, so I think I shocked a few people yesterday by crying when reading all the lovely things they wrote in my cards. They then took great delight in telling me that they ran out of room in the first card, so for the first time ever, they had to buy a second card and they had to queue up to be able to write in it. Made me feel guilty all over again for leaving but I think I'm at peace with that decision .. for the next five minutes at least! Seriously though, it was a great boost to my self-esteem to be told over and over again how much I would be missed and to be thanked for being a wonderful person.

The thing that surprised me the most about the whole day was seeing a couple of the male managers with tears in their eyes at my farewell afternoon tea. One of them said he was hoping I'd never leave because he needed me there to make it easier to come to work everyday. (Probably because I used to do a lot of his paperwork for him!) He has also offered me a job working with/for him whenever I want to go back to work. The other manager has also offered me a job whenever I'm ready, as have the managers of two other stores.

All in all, even though I'm sad to leave, I think it is the best thing for me right now. I just need some time to sort myself and the family out, to do some of things that I used to enjoy and decide what I want to do from here on out.

Farewell Big W .. hello new beginnings!

1 comment:

Kaye said...

Wow!! How exciting to be starting a new chapter of your life. I'm excited for you.