Today was my Aussie assistant's last day on the job. It was very sad to see her prepare to leave. My wife and I took her to lunch. We gave her a card, just from the two of us, expressing our sincere appreciation for all she's done for us these last 18 months. This woman is only 21 or 22 years old, but she's so mature and so very pleasant to be around. By the time the end of the day came around, and all of us in the office gathered 'round to wish her well, everyone was feeling a bit down.
I can honestly say that today was the first time the departure of a staff member has made me emotional. We've not become friends, but I've come to rely on her and I've been so proud of the achievements she's made these past several months. Of course she cried and expressed gratitude at all the opportunities she's been given. I do believe we've given her opportunities to learn so very much and I'm proud of that. I wish I could see a realistic way of keeping her on our payroll, or at least keeping her on in a consulting role, after she returns home to Australia. We'll see.
She's not leaving town for a couple of weeks, so we got her to agree to let us (and 2 other senior people at the office) take her to dinner next week, along with her fiance if he's in town. That will be the last time we'll see her and I have to practice so I won't become emotional. It's always embarrassing for a 53 year old man to have his eyes fill with water and his nose run...I always envy those guys whose emotions don't run so close to the surface as mine.
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