Last Day

   My last day of work at my store was Saturday. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Leaving a place that you've worked at for ten years is not easy.
   I decided that some prep work was in order. During the week I cleaned out the drawer where I kept my things. There was a lot of stuff in that drawer. There were things I forgot I had. I had several small empty bottles of hand lotion and hand sanitizer spray. I think my plan was to take them home to put in the recycling bucket as we don't recycle plastic at work. There were a few cards I received from customers, interns and my staff. I put them in a box to take home with me.
   I found a ton of old journals that I saved for the interns. I put those in the recycling bucket. I had several folders of lessons of various types for when I had interns. I wasn't sure what to do with those. There's a chance I may not get to precept interns again. Should I recycle it or take it home? I decided to take it home. Maybe someday I would need it again. If not I could always put it in the home recycling bucket.
   I made a mental list of all the other things I had to take with me. There was a stool, a couple of stepping stools and my calculator. I had to take my big framed license off the wall and unpin the smaller renewal licenses from the case where they are kept. Bit by bit I removed everything that belonged to me. I left the microwave. When my old boss left, he took the microwave with him as it was his. I asked for the company to get us one, but the DM told me that it wasn't essential equipment. I knew we needed it if for no reason than we needed to be able to heat up food. I took my veterinary drug reference.
   The only belongings of mine left to take where the ones that I couldn't take until I finished my last shift.
  I knew the day could be an emotional one. I decided to dress up. I wore a red Bettie Page dress. It's a vintage dress with a circle skirt bottom and a sailor like collar. The neckline is a little lower that I would prefer, but it is still high enough so everything is covered. I hadn't worn it in awhile and decided that I was going to go out with a bang.
   It was a busy day. I filled prescriptions, waited on customers and answered the phone as best I could. I wanted to get as much done as possible. I didn't want to leave a mess for my boss or the pharmacist that would be covering for me after I'm gone. The other reason I wanted to stay busy was because I didn't want to dwell on the fact that probably won't see any of these people again. I didn't want to tear up or feel bad. I just kept working.
  The tech came in and I had someone to talk to. I was working with Barb. Barb and I have always gotten along. I used to joke that we were "two old German broads" that could get a lot done when we set our minds to it. I was going to miss working with her, Kassie and Rae. I didn't want to think about that.
   One of the things that made my last week hard was the fact that I couldn't tell any customers I was leaving. There's no rule that says I can't, but it usually isn't done. The reason is because generally the employer you are leaving does not want customers to follow you to your new employer whoever that may be. In my case, there would be no problem. I don't know where I am going next.
  I did violate that unwritten rule for five customers. Three over them are friends of mine who deserved to hear that I was leaving from me personally. The other two were customers I knew might be seriously upset. I didn't want my staff to have to deal with a customer throwing a fit at the counter.
  During the day I had received several complements on the dress. Everyone liked it. One guy asked if it was my new uniform. Another guy said I should wear dresses to work more often. I smiled that thanked everyone for their compliments. It helped.
  The shift was drawing to a close. The tech went home. She left a card for me. I didn't read it. I was afraid it would make me cry. The last two hours were spent cleaning things up and leaving notes.
  C came to help me carry my stool and a stepping stool out. I was preparing to shut the gate when a customer came up and asked if it was too late to pick up something. I still had one register open so I could ring him up. He complemented me on my dress. C mentioned that it was my last day. The customer was surprised. He asked me why and I told him that I felt the time was right to make a change career-wise. He turned to C and told him that I was "the best" when it came to pharmacists. He asked me where I was going. I told him I wasn't sure. I was looking at several options. He told me to let him know once I was back working again. It warmed my heart. I had made a difference here.
  I finished locking up and took my register drawer out.  I gathered all the thing that I had left and put them in my work bag. I picked up the bag and the registers and set my alarm code for the last time.
  Then I walked out. I didn't look back. There was no point. It was time to face the future......