a chapter closed

This week I've been amazed multiple times. I know amazing is a word that gets overused, but I mean it quite literally here! 

I didn't tell many of my colleagues I was leaving LVHN, but slowly the word got out and by Monday, I was getting lots of "Sorry to hear you're leaving" comments. I was genuinely surprised how many people said that! After 7 months, it felt like I was just getting to know who everyone was, but hadn't made many friends. Apparently I've had the wrong impression this whole time! My managers expressed sincere regret, and even tried bribing me to stay. After hearing comments like "Why are you leaving us?" and "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?" several times a day, I started doubting myself. Were things really so bad that I couldn't learn to like it at LVHN? Then something would happen and I'd remember this is why I'm leaving! 

Today was my final day. To my astonishment, my IV friends put on an ice cream party for me and signed a card with some lovely goodbye wishes. I was truly touched! 

In my last few days at work, I decided I don't want to completely cut ties, so I'll be staying on per diem. I'm only required to work 1 day a month, and that keeps my foot in the door. Also, I don't want to lose my skills and I know there will be times I just want to make some IV's! 😄

Every day of the last 7 months at the end of my shift I felt like running out of the building. I could never get out of there fast enough. Today was no exception, even though I will miss some things and people. There's mixed feelings, but the most dominant one is joy! Some people at work noticed I couldn't keep the smile off my face when I talked about leaving! And some of them admitted they're jealous. 

As this chapter in my life is closing, I'm still trying to process it all. It was such a surprise to find out how much people cared, among other things. I had a completely different impression and it's hard to reconcile what I believed with what I heard and saw. It's been an eye-opening experience!