Bittersweet

Yesterday I turned in my badge and said goodbye to my pals at the Henry Whipple Federal Building. The long awaited day had finally arrived (actually, it seemed to sneak up on me really quickly!)

The day started with a visit from an old VA pal, Peter Newton.  Being the rock star that he is, he brought in a whole box of fresh, delicious donuts.  Peter and I go way back to the Survivor Benefits Team (SBC) team at the VA and he too has moved onto bigger and better things.   The appeals team huddled around one of my co-workers cubes to devour the donuts and reminisce about all of the fun times we have had in the past. 

My last day happened to be the day of the annual Pension Management Center picnic.  At 11:00 the Whipple building threw up masses of employees onto the lawn of the neighboring Snelling Club where a whole roasted pig awaited us… I managed to steer clear and find my vegetarian bratwurst with only small amounts of gagging.  The picnic gave me a great opportunity to walk around and say goodbye to people that I don’t usually see and that are in different departments.  I managed to stay cool with multiple trips to the snow cone stand J

After the picnic, I had to say goodbye to the group of ladies that became my little VA family over the years.  With a 40 hour work week, a lot of people see their co-workers more than their own family.  Our little posy consisted of me, Katie R, Libby, Katie P and Becky.  We ate lunch together every day and Katie R and I had morning and afternoon walks on most days.  I really got to know and love these ladies and will miss them very much. 

I thought I would get to leave early on my last day, but by the time I made my rounds and said goodbye to everyone, I was running a half hour behind.  It is weird how it takes leaving a place to realize how many great people you have met and how many fun times that you had.  It was sad to leave, but who am I kidding, I am moving to Costa Rica and Austin, TX!! This is going to ROCK!

Peace out VA, happy adjudicating J