Retirement Party

I think I've mentioned before that I'm the youngest employee in my office building. And I've been here since August 2001. So, even though I've already received my first years-of-service pin, I'm still the kid. Err... baby goat. Yeah.

I've already been to a whole bunch of retirement parties. Anytime someone retires, the whole company is invited to the cafeteria for a luncheon that could be described most closely as a roast. Only instead of some funny emcee like Jimmy Kimmel, we have the guy who runs our R&D lab. And instead of a celebrity honoree, we have a salesman or a chemist or machine operator.

I almost always LOVE these lunches. The employee is on their way out the door, so there is no professionalism required. My co-workers know that this is their last to share that embarassing story from 20 years ago, so it is shared. And someone always winds up being all sentimental, giving the women something to "awwwwwwwww..." about. The retiree will then kiss the spouse and say a few words to close the meal. Then everyone goes back to work.

Jim gives 25+ years of his life to being the best dang chemist he can be... lots of things happen between his hiring and his retiring: he goes from single to married, from a college kid to a father to a grandfather, from a party guy to a respected family man, from a basketball player to a golfer, from being the new guy to being the respected veteran of the laboratory, from dark-haired to grey-haired.

After decades of waking up and going to work, today is his last day. All his former bosses and co-workers get invitations to the luncheon. His wife, children, and grandkids get to sit at the head table. And all of us tell and listen to stories about Jim's life and career. And we all realize how lucky we've been to know him and work with him. And tomorrow, he'll be gone. And we're happy for him, and we're proud of him...

...so we all stand up and applaud him for all he's done. And we hope he enjoys his retirement. Surely, he's been looking forward to it. And tomorrow morning, he doesn't have to wake up and drive to the office.

Thing is, regardless of whether I know the retiree well or not, I get the chills every time. There's something spiritual about it all...

Someday, after I've put in my time here in this life, I'll clock out for the last time and be welcomed into retirement. And there will be a big luncheon, certainly with better food than what the cafeteria served today. (Seriously, how hard is it to cook peas?) And I'll be surrounded by my family and those who have gone before me...

...and I hope they say good things about me. I hope they have fond memories of me. Sometimes I wonder what they'll say and think.