Beginnings and Endings

Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. ~ Ecclesiates 7:8 MSG

New beginnings are exciting, fun, filled with hope and promise of something better.

Endings can be sad, hard, painful and cause us to be reflective. I am not sure what Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiates, meant by endings being better than beginnings, I think they both have their good and bad points.

What I am finding on this day, the beginning of the end of my employment and retirement from a job that I have held for over 27 years, is a great mix of all the above. I have been a huge mix of emotions today. I knew this day was coming, but until it actually arrived, I didn't know what to expect.

I have worked for a millwork wholesale company since I was in my early twenties. When I walked in the front door in 1990 I didn't know the difference between a jamb, sill or T-astragal. I started as an order entry/file clerk and worked my way up to an administrative/purchasing position.

If you don't know much about millwork, you may not appreciate one of my funniest early experiences.  It was my job to hand key all the sales orders into the computer. A typical door unit would have the size, thickness, door type, etc. My office manager brought me a packing slip for an order I had entered that read: Interior Door Unit, 3/0x6/8 1 3/8 Solid Core BITCH. (it should have said BIRCH). I was so embarrassed, because the customer of course had seen it, along with everyone in the office as it was passed around for a good laugh. I am glad that I have learned to laugh at myself since then, because there have been many instances for me to do just that.

Learning was one of the best parts of the job for me, that and helping people solve problems. I soaked up as much information as I could but am sure there is much more I will leave not knowing.

I was supported through the very difficult end of my tumultuous first marriage, counselled on my decision to marry the second time and leave the country, and welcomed back just 10 months later when that marriage failed. Best of all, I worked with the man that would end up being the love of my life, my third (and final!) husband.

My work family stood by me as I struggled through my years of healing from physical and sexual abuse, infertility and loss of loved ones. I literally grew up in this one office, having spent over half of my life within its walls. Walls that protected me from the pain of the outside world until I was healthy, whole and ready to leave them for this new venture in my life.

I will post, as promised, on our story of opening the restaurant, but I could not move on without honoring this part of my life, and reflecting on all that it has meant to me.

So thank you to those that hired me, believed in me, supported me, laughed at and with me, tolerated me, forgave me, taught me and loved me. You will forever be a huge part of my story and I am eternally grateful and blessed to have shared these years of my life with you.