Everything Teaches Us Something We Need to Know

When I turn off the lights at 6:00 tonight, it will be the last time I do so under the name of Freestone, so today is a bittersweet day for me. It’s a great day for the Owner! Doesn’t matter how you get your profits, it only matters that you do. And I understand that. What is a little more difficult to understand is an Owner who does not come in person to say, “Good bye.” Maybe that is normal … to have no definitive closure, no formal way to bid someone a fond farewell. I have never experienced it this way, to be sure.

As I look out the window at this gray, windy day that is neither warm nor cold, I think the somber mood is reflected in the little puddles of rain collected in an indentation on the ground. But inside, I feel not sad, but hopeful. I am really more of an optimist than a pessimist. (When I was twelve I could be a Debbie Downer extraordinaire, but nowadays, I choose to look up, rather than down!) It’s much more fun to see the bright side of things (when you can) than to dwell on the negative.

I believe that every experience I have had is leading me somewhere. In just two short years, I have the opportunity to learn so many incredible things. Just think. If this happened (my company selling off all "our" properties) when I was just starting out (and to see "your" company come to an end) I would have given up, thrown in the towel, said I could not do that again. After all, it is not often you find a great mentor who teaches you the business as mine has, or one who allows you to run with your marketing ideas full force, one who says, “Make us a website! Hook us up on Facebook! Create brochures - do it. Do it all! Supervise this construction project! I don't need to handle that; you can do it." You can do it. Magical words! It is rare to find someone who criticizes in a kind and gentle way and lets you make a mistake or two and then allows you to fix it. I have the utmost respect for this person.

After eight plus years, this is the hardest part about moving on; it’s leaving behind people you care about and admire. I know this isn’t the end of my relationship with my boss (hey, I know he will be there if I want to bounce an idea around, even at eleven at night and there’s always email) but it is the end of our day-to-day working relationship (for now.) I wonder if he will feel the effects of his own “Empty Nest,” but perhaps this is good preparation for him for when his oldest leaves for college next year. It just goes to show you, for everyone, everything that happens prepares us for the next step, the next adventure, next job, the next radical, awful, wonderful or special event that will happen. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing what new is being planned for me in life!