And the goodbyes begin ...

... the "goodbyes" aren't spoken yet ... except in my head. And so yesterday was both a "last meeting" (of its kind) and a "last supper" (of its kind) ... both of which had me blinking back a few tears.

We had an "all-building" all-staff meeting ... meaning all three affiliated companies meet and put on their dog-and-pony shows for the other companies. Luckily for EducationQuest ... we have the best mission ... or at least the one that has the most people-related outcomes. So when others are talking about business plans ... we're putting a face on our programs via a PowerPoint that talked about the people who have been helped by EducationQuest. It was great. (But attaching a PowerPoint is not only beyond my expertise ... not sure that there will be a reader left if I did that!)

After the meeting, some of my staff came  to dinner at the Denicolas. There were 10 of us ... with Rob as the "chef" and I the server/sous chef. I looked around the table at one point ... and thought how much I would miss everyone who was there. They are all smart, funny individuals ... a bit younger than me  ... some more than a bit! I continue to be the old one at work! 

I will miss how the staff "kept me young." They've kept me wired in ... talked me into a smartphone, an Ipad, a Kindle (okay not in that order) early! Talked me into Facebook and Twitter  (but not blogging ... that was all me. :) ).  Introduced me to cloud technology and my dropbox account. And now ... I will have to do it on my own and not backslide! 

Throughout my tenure at EducationQuest ... my staff and I have discussed ...well, work of course! But also  ... movies, books, and tv shows. (Yes, we even had our Team Edward phase.) We've celebrated marriages, babies, and, yes, my grandbabies. We've been there for one another through family deaths ... and then mourned together when we lost one of our own. I had to give up watching "Glee" after we lost Tammi. So in her memory ... and all that I learned from her ... I leave you with Matthew Morrison (with Leona Lewis) ... in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" ... because we should all be wishing on that star!