The Final Curtain

And at the appointed hour (noon) on the appointed day (the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend) I make my grand exit.  I dutifully make my lap around the department. My secretary is not there to make me cry like a two year old. She's home on leave and has missed most of the drama as it has unfolded.  She'd have to be carried out win a straight jacket for sure. There are some tears. There are some whispered "Take me with you wherever you go"s, some folks that make themselves unavailable for the awkward goodbye (like when two rival hockey players have to shake hands after a high-stakes game where each of them clobbered the other's face mercilessly), and a few others that fake their well wishes, barely concealing their glee that I am exiting the building for the last time.

They have no idea how much this resembles a prison break for me. 

And I have a clandestine secret lunch date with a few colleagues. Cocktail toasts and long held secrets all around. We laugh. We snark. We toast. We grouse. It is a sad departure. Some work friends really do become more than that. 

And then I get in my car and join the holiday weekend traffic jam.  No road rage on this last ride home as it is my last ride home from the gates of Hell. The Seals and Crofts refrain "We may never pass this way again..." is making laps around my head. 

I stop at home, change into a fun outfit befitting of a jail break, feed the two cats I'll be seeing a lot more of, and head back out to join some friends, lots of friends, who have made plans to meet me at my favorite brew pub. 

I love it when friends from different camps get to meet each other and finally put the puzzle pieces of funny stories together. "So, it was you took off your bra and threw it into the Christmas tree when you forgot to bring an ornament to the tree trimming party!" and "Oh, I know who you are!  You are the guy who put Liza's lost chandelier earring in your navel when you found it!"  I also love when good food like candied bacon and home made whiskey pickles collide with fresh micro brewed beer. Sheer decadence. As it should be on such a night following such a day.

By the end of the night, I have plans to take the kids camping with a bunch of people, plans for the next night, and a book club invitation.  I have also made a commitment to amp up my walking routine and get myself into the best shape possible while I have endless hours to do so. 

I close my eyes on a life-changing day and nod off to enjoy the first full, uninterrupted night of sleep in over three years.