End of an Era

Back in the beginning of time, when I first followed the Phenom to this little town, I struggled. Finding a job was hard. I knew it couldn't be just any job, it had to be a career type job or no one would take me seriously. But, for months, I couldn't even get an interview.

One day, I decided ENOUGH! and resolved to leave. I knew I didn't want to leave the Phenom, but I felt like I'd run out of better choices. I kinda suspected that if it were meant to be, the Phenom and I'd sustain a distance relationship until the timing was better, or not. But the reality was that I'd spent years on my education and only a few months on Phenom.

Then, that very afternoon I'd resolved to leave, one of Phenom's brand new colleagues called and invited me to have lunch with her. She was new in town, I was new in town, we had similar outlooks on life, it seemed natural to be friends. So, I put my plans to leave on hold for another week. In that week, two jobs were advertised that were perfect for my special qualities. I scored interviews for both jobs, and was offered both jobs.

If not for that one, well timed invitation, I might have left here, never married the Phenom, and not had the life I have.

Today, I said good-bye to that friend who had such a pivotal and unintended impact on my life. She's taken her dream job on the west coast, and will probably never find herself in our little town again.

There was a time when the three of us gathered every Friday night at one of the three places in town that served beer. There was a period where she was my only other friend here beyond the Phenom.

The enormity of her leaving has caught me a little off guard.