Missing you

I am very close to leaving this job. I'm finally going back to school and once I've finished school, I will be able to find a better paying job.
It's hard to think about leaving though. I've been here for a little over three years. It's the longest job I've ever had. It's basically my second home because I'm there almost as much as my own house! The clients are like some weird family that everyone knows about, but never meet. The staff are like an even weirder family that everyone gets to meet. I say my fellow staff members are more weird because isn't that how it works? Our clients rub off on us so not only are we weird in our own way, but we have an added weirdness that comes out every once in a while. Okay, more than once in a while for some of us . . . you know who you are! Now, don't worry because I am including myself here! I catch myself using phrases like, "No not funny," and "Hi my buddy." Those are not normal phrases for me. I've picked them up from my clients.

So here's the problem. I am so excited about moving on to a better paying job. I won't have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore. Only two short years away! =) On the other hand, I can't imagine my life without my clients and staff. I can't imagine not seeing these six people almost every day. Same with the staff. It's like when you're a kid and you have to move or change schools. You tell your friends that you'll keep in touch and visit and call. And you do, for about a month or two. Then your new life takes over and you forget about the old. Out with the old, in with the new!

We, myself and other staff members, have been together for over two years, some of us for over three. I've been working with these clients for three plus years. I've watched them all improve in their day to day routine. The smallest improvement is just amazing when you realize it just happened in front of your eyes. I've seen my fellow staff members grow close and support each other. I can't imagine not driving 15 minutes to work every day, not smoking a before-work cigarette, not getting frustrated because paperwork wasn't finished, not laughing when a client is yelling at you and calling you a "goddamn lowlife" and two minutes later, he is hugging you.

It's a good two years away. It seems like a lifetime. It's going to fly by.