Such sweet sorrow

On the 11th of May, I will have been bumping around the countryside in old trucks for thirteen years. On the 15th of May, I will be hanging up my steelcap boots for the last time & turning in my trusty old hi vis vest. Yep, the old Flatster has finally taken the plunge & resigned. This will enable me to stay home & spend time with & care for Herself. The last 13 years have been quite a ride. Its worked out well though.

Essentially, I am doing the same run that I started on all those years ago. the guy thats doing it now is having 2 weeks holiday. I therefore have the opportunity to bid farewell to good people that I have known for a substantial portion of that time. Its not an easy thing to do either. A lot of them have become genuine friends over the years. I think if I miss one thing, it will be frantically searching for a new yarn or joke to tell around the depots as I go. You see, my personal policy has long been to leave people with a smile & feeling a little happier than before. So much so, that I can roll into somewhere & someone will immediately look up & say, "So what's the joke for today ?" It's a nice feeling to be remembered, even after a couple of years as is often the case in this industry. Folk tend to move around in it regularly, but the same old faces tend to keep cropping up when you least expect it.

So its hard saying goodbye to them all. Some are managing directors, who will keep a client waiting while we have a 10 minute yarn in their office. Others are the roughest of diamond that you could wish not to meet, but they all have one thing in common. If they like you, they will go out of their way to help you & they all genuinely care . This is what I am doing then. Seeking out these friends that I have made & telling them that Herself has limited time, & that we are going to spend it together. They all love her too. Although she is very much a lady & always will be, they have seen her over the years being not afraid to get her hands dirty & pitch in & help me when the going got tough. They have also seen someone who is down to earth enough to speak to them & take the time to get to know them.

They are all genuinely upset to learn of her situation. As much for herself as for me. This is wonderful to know, but still, as the great bard said, "parting is such sweet sorrow."