Passing Last Days

And so another round of transition comes to a close as the wave of Hammer Fall II prepares for their last day.

It is an odd thing, this unwilling but conscious leaving by some - and the fall out from that decision.  Within the week the composition of my workplace will be significantly altered.  Within a week, the group that I enjoy lunch with will be changed once again.

One would think I would get used to this - after all, we are rapidly approaching my five year anniversary here.  I have seen plenty of people come and go in my time, the composition of the workplace ebb and flow.  Individuals one works and eats and laughs with go from coworkers to acquaintances seen occasionally while in the workplace fewer and fewer who know them still work there; stories move to legends and individuals move into the workplace pantheon, forms and caricatures of the totality of their experience who would not be recognized as such if they were met in the street.

It saddens me because I see friends I have made over the years leaving, friends that have made the work environment a better place to be.  Others will come of course and there will be new legends and new stories but things always seem a little dimmer to me when those that I came in or have worked with for a long time depart.  It is not just a coworker that departs; it is part of a life and a lifestyle that is leaving as well.

Next week will come of course and the workplace will move on as it always has.  I will probably take a moment to walk by the cubes where my coworkers used to sit and look at the places that we had good conversations.  As I get coffee in the lunch room I will listen for the ghostly laughter shared over food.

And then, sighing and squaring my shoulders, I will take my memories and head back to my desk.