Closure

Last Friday was supposed to be my last official day at work.  I woke up to a fast approaching winter storm.  I needed to go to the office to meet with my boss, clean out my desk, and say goodbye to my friends and co-workers.  When I arrived at work people were leaving the building.  A manager I worked with told me to do what I needed and then go home.  I did not know it at the time but my boss was stuck in Florida trying to get home.  My building was virtually empty of people.  When I got to the floor where I worked there were only two people there, one of whom was my ever faithful partner and assistant.  She helped me finish my packing and then we walked out of the building together.  I was happy that she was there and I was able to say goodbye face to face.  Throughout this first week of retirement I've had the thought that I really didn't have closure with my office, co-workers, and friends.  I feel like I didn't get to say goodbye.  When I went to work last Friday I expected to work most of the day and to be able to walk around and say my goodbyes.  The reality is that it feels like my entire work experience just vanished into thin air.  Some people in the office might feel this way about me.  I don't mean to sound arrogant but I know I was a well liked and popular person.  I think many people saw me as a "character" who was somewhat entertaining, especially when I was going off about some office process or task.  I exploited my old man/senior citizen grumpiness on a daily basis.  However, I think most people enjoyed this.  Who will take my place and say all the things other people are thinking but are afraid to say out loud?  If you are one of my former co-workers, especially if we literally worked together every day, I am sorry if we weren't able to say goodbye to one another.  Although I don't miss working, I do miss people.