On Leaving

A draft of this satisfyingly sappy post has been sitting for 8 years in this exact form. I wrote it after leaving 10up and Portland. I still dig it enough to promote it from draft status. Add 8 to “the last 10 years” 🙂

I’ve had this aching thought in my head for the last 10 years or so that goes somewhat like this.

I meet amazing people in life and we become friends. Sometimes these relationships last for hours. Sometimes they last for years. For some they’ll continue on throughout our lives.

In so many of these, we’ll one day go our separate ways. Maybe one got a new job and we won’t see each other on a day to day basis. Maybe I’m moving across the country and the likelihood of keeping in touch is low. Maybe we laughed over Guinness and Jameson for a single night on an empty Inis Mór after a chance meeting in a Galway hostel. (Hi Simon and Nicolette from Melbourne)

I reflect on all of these and I reflect on them often.

If life is a book, it’s okay to start the next chapter even if you really like the one you’re on. The characters don’t go away, the story doesn’t get forgotten.

It does provide an opportunity to keep things interesting.