One day, when I was a kid, as the end of the school year approached, I was talking with my dad about the upcoming last day of school. I wondered if adults’ lives were similar, so I asked him, “Is there a last day of work?” I was surprised and demoralized when he told me that there wasn’t. (But not as demoralized as when I asked him if there were such things as robbers and he said yes.)

Well, it turns out there is, in fact, a last day of work, and today is mine. It’s my last day at my job. I’ve been at this job for almost five years, and I’ve been working in Newark for almost six. I’m not going to miss Newark, or the commute, although the PATH ride has always been a great opportunity to get some reading done. If all goes well, I look forward to being employed in Manhattan in the future, and having a much shorter trip.

I got taken out to lunch today, and we’re going to have a big ol’ dessert spread later this afternoon. Everyone here has been really supportive of my situation over the past six weeks. I’m going to miss my colleagues – they’ve always been so friendly, relatively low-pressure and well-balanced people. (And many of them are very funny.) I’ve tended to be pretty quiet around the office, but I’ve gotten along well with everyone during my time here. I hope the same holds true for future endeavors.

And so I move on to whatever life brings me next.