The Last of Tustumena

Thursday was a hard day; My last day at Tustumena. The entire staff met at Rocky’s Café for breakfast. There I was present with a Tustumena pin and a token gift as a farewell. Without a doubt, they appreciated me as a person and professional almost as much as I appreciated working with them. I was able to hold it together and accept the recognition without breaking into tears. That wasn’t the case at checkout.

I signed up to checkout first, because I knew the longer I stayed the harder it would be. It was still hard. My principal, Bob, went through the list and then looked at me and said “I guess I all that’s left if to wish you a good summer." He stood up with outstretched arms and gave me a parting hug saying, "We're really going to miss you.” Yeah. That’s when I lost it. I had no words and my tears said it all. I had said everything I wanted to say before, and now even if I wanted to say something else, I couldn’t. I made my exit.

Within the next half hour, I said my good-byes to everyone else. Some of them respected colleagues, several of them friends. I know we will stay in touch. I shut my door for the last time and left. If things would have been different, I would be staying at Tustumena. Leaving there is one of the hardest things I ever had to do. In may cultures, people mourn a loss by cutting their hair.

I sat in that chair and watched hair that had never been shorter than shoulder length hit the floor. By the time I was finished, I accepted the fact that things are not be the way I would like them to be. I also made the decision to trust that everything is as it should be. Now, even if I wanted to say something else, I wouldn't.