Saying Goodbye

We are excited about serving a mission in Indonesia.  We truly are lookng forward to the mission, and spending much of each day on some kind of mission preparation, whether spiritual, linguistic, or physical.

But we are not superhuman, and there is some grief in letting go of our careers a few years sooner than we might have, and making the shift all at once.  Some have advised us that we should have retired for a while first, then gone on the mission. Sounds good, but the reality is that we don't know how much longer our health will last, and we would NOT have retired now except for the mission call.

So the past few months have been a long process of lasts and good-byes.

November was very difficult.  I saw a great coupon for a favorite baking spice and then realized that I would not use a whole bottle in the few months remaining.  Fortunately, our local grocery Wards Supermarket has a great spice aisle and I could buy only the amount I needed.

When I wrote the November press release for the Florida Consumer Sentiment Index, which would go out over the AP wire and is typically picked up by various media across the state, I realized that it would be the last release that I would write.  I would still be around in December, but wanted the new person to write it, with only coaching from me.  I spent a lot of time sobbing that day.  It came out on a Tuesday, which is the day for my Indonesian lesson.  I decided to use Alma 34 as the text for our lesson, reading and discussing in Indonesian.  I have always loved that God wants us to be successful in our work, and that we can pray over our flocks (or reports, or questionnaires, or whatever our particular work involves.  Later I listened to the recording of that session, and yes, I was pretty upset that day.

As the weeks went on into December, it became a bit easier to do the last time of this or that.  Last time eating breakfast at a place near work, where I went sometimes when I had an article to edit.  Last time taking the bus home on Friday.

On December 8, my co-workers gave me a farewell luncheon and a gift of this amazing book on surviving anywhere.  They were concerned about the amenities in Indonesia.

December 21, 2017 was my actual last day in the office, and I thought I might send a note to the listserv for the American Association for Public Opinion Research.  Those colleagues have been a great strength to me throughout my career and some have become friends.  The listserv itself  is dear to my heart because a few years ago I chaired a subcomittee on the future of the listserv.  When members of the organization just drop out of sight, I often wonder where they went, so I thought a brief sign-off note would be okay.  The reaction was stunning.  I got several dozen emails from people wishing me well.   Some of them chose to respond to the entire list, which was embarrassing.  But because I had been practicing for a month, I could smile at how much they had enriched my life, rather than weeping over what I was losing.


I have been a volunteer usher for UF Performing Arts since we returned from Brazil in 1996.  December is a busy time with student recitals and graduations.  I had originally thought that I would continue to usher in early 2018, but then decided it would be better not to have that stress, and I wouldn't be available much due to planned travel.  So my last usher stint was for The Nutcracker in late December.

One of the other ushers was wearing a lovely red cummerbund and tie.  Rich red but not too bright, perfect for the winter holidays.  People complimented her on it and she wryly said that yes, the red had been lovely to wear for the holiday shows, but come January she would need a new standard black cummerbund, because she had lost it a few weeks earlier.

I piped up that she could have mine at the end of the night.  What perfect timing!  It pleases me that my cummerbund will continue to usher even though I am far away doing other work.

And so we are learning to say goodbye and look forward to new challenges and opportunities for service.