My hardest goodbye was leaving the group of teachers that I had worked with for nine years. We had grown up together: attended each other’s weddings, met new babies, helped during troubling times. When I decided to leave this school, it was as if I was leaving my extended family. They had all taken such good care of my daughter through the years, and I was extremely sad to not be able to give them the chance to help me raise my son. We had been there for the best times together, and pulled together when times were tough: not having enough staff, or a director, or experiences with awful parents.
When I left, we cried, hugged,
told stories from over the years, and just loved each other. I knew I was
making the right choice by leaving the company that I was working for, but
leaving the people was the hardest part. The environment was toxic, but my
co-workers are what kept me there for so long.
I think the reason this was
the hardest was that we had grown together. We knew how to make the school
operate without even trying. We were a well-oiled machine.
My hope after working with
people for so long is that we can stay in touch throughout the years. Social
media has been extremely helpful in reconnecting with friends and colleagues
from the past. Also, our blogs have been helpful in getting to know each
other. I would hope that we can continue to be a part of each other’s lives since we have shared so much together.
Adjourning is so important
because it is the closing chapter of a book series. We work together and grow
together and when finishing, we write our final chapter together and are able
to close the back cover of the book. The finality of the experience is there
but friendships do not have to end.
Hi Leanne, thank you so much for sharing your adjourning experience with your co-workers at your previous job. I had a simialr experience having to leave a toxic work environment at the first earlychildhood center I taught at. Unfortunately, I wasn't close to many of the staff members because most of the time I was the only one working there however I grew very close to the children and their families. I also unfortunately didn't get to say goodbye to them the way I had hoped because of the director of the company's instructions for me to leave quietly. There were lots of things I was forced to keep quiet and I was very sad to not have a final goodbye to the children and families that I grew close to. I am very glad that you were able to have a happy closure to the ending of your chpater of that school!
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