I went to a farewell happy hour tonight. Feel like there have been a lot of these going on lately. But this one has a particular sting the others did not.
Agent Jones, as I like to call her (not to her face, only in my head) is hightailing it out to California to be with her fiance who will be making six figures. Can't say I blame her. The getting married part is pretty great too. Thing is, she's one of those people who you can't help but love. She's got great girl next door looks, an amazing work ethic and is smart as a whip, but her main concern at any given point in time is making you laugh. She's also fantastic about saying the thing you're thinking but won't say for fear of offending someone. Consequently, she's got a million friends. You'd think that would work against her, but it simply does not.
She's also someone who can't help but be positive, in a manner that is completely infectious, and, in the workplace, has always had my back. At a time when friends on the home and work fronts appear to be dwindling, losing her is a multi-layered blow.
I've nothing particularly profound to say about her, or her party tonight. Simply I share that my heart's a little heavier knowing tomorrow is her last day, and I can't count on her to peer around my office door to belch and leave. Ok, that may not sound particularly endearing to you but a well-timed belch and run can work wonders on a bad day.
People come and go in the workplace, and my boss keeps assuring me that everyone is replaceable. I'm less convinced of that all the time. You can always find people to do a job, but when you find someone who raises the bar to such a standard as Jonesy has, it becomes unacceptable to envision someone sitting at her desk and assuming her tasks. I'd clone her if I could. I really would. She's the kind of person who brings people from opposite ends of the spectrum together. As I looked across the room at people I've feuded with professionally, both in the past and in the present, I was kind of amazed that we shared this one important feature in common. We love Agent Jones. How could you not?
I'm also confronted with the DC reality of how often people leave. Few seem to be rooted here. I was the one taking off 6 years ago with little intention of returning. In one month I've seen a friend move to Atlanta, another to California and yet another is on her way to Israel. I'm wondering how much more of this I can really take.
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