It's Not Goodbye...It's See You Later

One of the many lessons I learned in DC was the delicate balance between coworkers-as-friends and actual-friends. When I moved to Nashville and started my new job, I was cautiously optimistic about what my friendships with coworkers would look like. I knew better than to spill my secrets to the first smiling face that invited me to happy hour. Of course I always politely accepted, never extending the evening beyond 7:30 p.m. and definitely never ordering more than three cocktails.

But something strange happened along the way. As I began to get to know some of my peers, I discovered that I actually enjoyed their company. Maybe I could find a way to keep my professional life separate from my personal life with the same people.

It's now been almost two years since I started my job and I've earned a handful of compatriots in the office. That thin line I so fearfully dreaded has been (thankfully) easy to navigate, and the people I've chosen to allow into my world outside the walls of my desk have become dear friends.

Of course, we're all in our mid-twenties, and no one wants to sit still. My very first friend in the office (and coincidentally the person who welcomed me into what is now "my" group of friends) just moved back to Texas to be closer to family. Another is leaving to pursue a better job opportunity. And another, probably the one I'll miss the most, is moving to DC with her just-graduated-from-law-school husband.

I've come to love these girls, and it's definitely going to be a lot less interesting around the office and on weekends without them. Gone are my coffee-run buddies (although my checking account may actually thank me for that). Lost are the covert eye-rolling battles during the unfailingly awkward all-staff luncheons. And Friday afternoons in the break room won't be peppered with plans for the weekend. I can't be anything but excited for these girls; their lives are continuing forward in only the best directions. So as I prepare to say goodbye to all my office friends, I won't delete their numbers from my phone book or take on that ugly out of sight out of mind attitude. I'll simply remove the "office" from the preface of their names and slide them over to the ever-growing list of people I'll make an effort to stay in touch with.

And look! More cities to explore! Excuses to use up my vacation days on weekend getaways! There's always a silver-lining somewhere, right??