For about two years, Emily and I shared an office in the middle of a hospital tower.
No windows. No sunshine. No real indication of whether it was a beautiful day outside or the beginning of the apocalypse.
But we made work fun.
At one point, we started a little competition to see who could discharge the most patients. The loser had to pay up, and after a few weeks, we took our winnings and went to dinner.
Then last year, we moved into a new office.
With a window.
A real window!
And let me tell you, after two years of working in a cave, daylight feels like a luxury benefit.
But honestly, I could probably share a broom closet with Emily and be perfectly happy.
Somewhere along the way, Emily became much more than the case manager who sits on the other side of my office.
She became my friend.
Technically, she’s much closer to my daughter’s age than she is to mine, but that has never mattered. We have a ridiculous amount in common, and she has become one of my favorite people to spend time with.
We’ve gone to dinners, taken a ten-week pottery class together, and visited a nursing home to make greeting cards with the residents. When she decided she wanted to learn how to crochet, that became our next project, and together we’ve made several lap blankets that we’re planning to give away at a nursing home during a little event we’re calling “blanket bingo.”
Apparently, Emily and I can’t just have hobbies. We have to turn them into projects.
At work, she keeps me entertained with her weekly inspirational mantras about how much we love our jobs. She actually writes them on the board so we can remind ourselves throughout the week.
Let’s just say some weeks require a little more inspiration than others.
But Emily really is one of the most positive people I know. She’s patient, kind, incredibly knowledgeable, and always willing to help. No matter how many times I ask her the same question, she answers with a smile.
She also has the sweetest almost-five-year-old little boy, whose stories and photos regularly brighten my day.
I genuinely love sharing an office with Emily. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have stayed at UK this long without her.
Which is why today’s news feels a little bittersweet.
Emily has the opportunity to apply for a brand-new educator position in our Case Management department.
And when I found out about it, I couldn’t help thinking that if I didn’t know better, I would swear someone designed the position with her in mind.
She would be incredible at it.
And I don’t say that just because she’s my friend and I think she’s wonderful. I say it because she is genuinely perfect for the job.
She’s created tools that have streamlined our processes and shared them with other case managers. She has a gift for teaching without making people feel like they should already know the answers. And when something isn’t working, she doesn’t just complain about it. She finds a better way.
Our department needs someone like Emily in that position.
In fact, I can’t imagine anyone better suited for it.
Of course, the possibility of not sharing an office with her anymore makes me a little sad.
But there’s another reason the timing of all this feels so strange.
My own plans have changed too.
A LOT.
One day, Emily started putting sticky notes on the board in our office. The first one said 21. Underneath it was 20, then 19, 18, 17…
When I asked what she was doing, she explained that she was counting down the years until she could retire.
Twenty-one YEARS.
My heart sank. I can’t even imagine.
At the time, I had my own retirement date written on a sticky note on my desk: November 2029.
So I put it next to her “21.”
We had mutual goals, even if our timelines were vastly different.
Except that since I wrote November 2029 on that sticky note, Ed and I have made some pretty big decisions.
And I haven’t told Emily.
Not because I don’t want her to know. Trust me, keeping something this big from someone I talk to every day has not been easy.
But there are still things that could change our plans, and I’m just not ready for my retirement date to become something everyone at work knows about. Until we get a little closer and I know for certain that everything is falling into place, I’m just not ready to talk about retirement at work.
It’s been incredibly hard. When you’re excited about something, you want to share it with your friends. You want to talk about the plans, the possibilities, and all the crazy things you’re looking forward to.
But for now, I’m waiting.
Soon. Just not yet.
And now, while I’ve been quietly preparing for my next chapter, Emily may have the opportunity to begin one of hers.
I certainly didn’t see that coming.
And strangely enough, knowing that my own time in that office may be shorter than she realizes makes the possibility of her leaving it a little easier.
I want this for Emily. She deserves the opportunity, and I know she’ll be wonderful at it. Our department will be better because of her, and I’ll be ridiculously happy for her.
Still, it’s strange to think that after all this time together, we may both be leaving that sunny little office for completely different reasons.
Fortunately for me, UK has a policy that limits job changes around the holidays, so even if everything works out for Emily, she should still be sharing our office with me through at least January.
Which gives me an idea.
For now, her countdown is still hanging on the board, right next to my November 2029 sticky note.
I think I’ll leave it there a little while longer.
Then one day, when the time is right, I’m going to quietly take it down and replace it with a new one.
April 2, 2027.
I’m not going to say a word.
I’m just going to stick it on the board and wait for her to notice.
And when she does…
Well, I have a feeling we’re going to have a lot to talk about.
And I think that conversation deserves a dinner.
One last time…
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