How do we say goodbye? How do we say goodbye to people, places, events, jobs, and activities we love dearly--what do we do?
We are all faced with goodbyes over time. When I left elementary school which was a positive experience, the goodbye was joyful. We were all moving together to a next big adventure, and I still had many siblings at the school in my neighborhood so while I was leaving the school, the school and school experience remained nearby.
In junior high, I was leaving for high school--that was exciting. While there were some good times in junior high, there were an equal share of bad times so I didn't mind leaving. The same was true for high school, so the farewell meant an exciting college adventure. By the time I reached senior year of college, I was ready to leave though the entire college experience was an awesome endeavor. I left my first professional job for a better job, and I left that job to study to teach, and I left teaching mainly because of the pandemic threat, the system's response to that threat, and the care needs of my aging parents. Leaving teaching brought with it mixed feelings given the gravity of pandemic times and the financial and personal impact of that decision.
Each time I said goodbye, I was satisfied that I had done my best in the situation I was leaving. Knowing that you did your best even though your best was not perfect does bring great satisfaction. So now as I am entrenched in the end stage of a number of life matters, I want to make sure that I do my best--I do what I can. When these matters are over, I want that personal satisfaction that I did what I could with the values, knowledge, and capacity I had.
There was a situation past when I faced this fork in the road. My husband and I had the chance to mostly ignore the situation or dig in and do what we could to meet the situation's potential. We did what we could, and we are so happy we did--it was the right thing to do. I'll do the same in the end-stage situations I face now.
I love new beginnings and I also love endings that are meaningful, loving, and positive. I'll strive for farewells like that. Onward.