Job . Employment . Career

My Story Part 2: Don't Look Back

A little more about my story....

The funny thing is, when I lost my job, after that moment of shock and disbelief and a tear or two -- I felt way more joy than fear of how I would survive. I also had the unusual situation of staying for 2 more weeks to transition my department to the “takeover” company back east.

Everyday, I packed up my office, cleaning out filing cabinets, throwing out several trees worth of paperwork. With each piece of paper that I tossed, my smile got larger. “Don’t have to deal with this file anymore, EVER.”, I thought.

Those around me were incensed! How could they do this to someone who had helped build this company from its infancy to a corporation worthy of acquisition by the larger conglomerate.

Few could look me in the eye as they wore the guilt of still being employed. It became my job to comfort them. One by one, they would wander in to my office with tear-filled eyes or a finger pointing at the evil corporate vultures. I responded by telling them how excited I was to embark on a new path!

During those two weeks, tasks were delegated and disbursed as those who remained took on the balance of my responsibilities, and the glazed look of juggling them. I felt for them. These were my dear friends.

It became quite apparent that I had let some of my coworkers down by not displaying the appropriate amount of sadness, expected in these situations. Ah, the irony. They had really done me a favor by expressing those feelings for me. I had no need to.

My last day arrived and like every other day, there were new issues to deal with and I was asked what to do. All I could say was, “Gee, I don’t know. I don’t work here."

Time to make an inventory adjustment: Money: Zip! Relationship: Zip! Passion: Maybe?

NEXT

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Kathy Coulston is an author, artist, and entrepreneur, with 15 years experience in corporate marketing communications and graphic design. Her writing works include helpful articles and tutorials, personal life stories of humorous evolution, and business collateral content. She is the founder of the http://www.stressbank.com community forum, http://gotimehosting.com, and http://www.digitalkat.com design.
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