unhappy trails.

Does anyone ever successfully execute an amicable departure from their job? When I quit back in March, everything was all, "what can we do to keep you?" and "let us know if you need anything," for about a day. Then it was more like, "what exactly are you accusing us of?" and "I don't really think we should have any more contact after you leave." This made for a pleasant final three weeks, as you may remember, during which I would cry myself to sleep and spend my days in a sullen stupor until the whole deal finally culminated with a forced, somber farewell party with a couple of sincere friends, a few professional acquaintances, and a bitter, evil, former boss who croaked out some quasi-enthusiastic compliments when pestered for a speech as jaws around the room dropped. After all that, I managed to leave with a smile on my closed mouth and my dignity intact.

As Marc prepares to leave his job, I see the same thing happening. He's on the phone for hours at a time, defending his professionalism and ethics, and I just want to grab the phone and protect my husband, screaming into the phone on his behalf, "do you have any idea who you're speaking to? This is the most sensitive man you will ever have the pleasure of working with. He sat up nights wondering if this or that was the right thing to do and the right way to do it." Marc made his own professional contacts and has executed a deal independent of his former employer. And while that's precisely the sort of employee that it sucks to lose, his courage has made him fierce and I don't see him caving in to these ridiculous accusations, not any time soon, anyway. He may be sensitive, but he's not exactly the sort to cry himself to sleep at night.