Endings and beginnings

At 5:30pm on Friday I rolled out of the Anglicare driveway for the last time, with my car full of flowers, canisters of tea and the contents of my desk. John, the best supervisor in the universe, was waving me goodbye and I had all the saddest songs I know playing in my head.

Finishing up at Anglicare was a bizarre feeling. I am excited about starting my new job in January, but it’s also really sad to leave Anglicare behind. I will miss the people, the work and the place. And on top of all that was the week-long adrenaline rush in the five days leading up to that moment. As the week rolled on it became increasingly apparent that I wasn’t going to wrap up all my projects as neatly as I thought. In between all the farewell conversations, coffee breaks and afternoon teas the work was so frantic it was difficult to process that it really was the end.

But it was the end. Friday came and went and suddenly there were too many emotions to process (“so many feels!”). I will miss being at Anglicare! Thanks to everyone there for making the last four years so rich and wonderful. Thanks for my wonderful Friday afternoon send off! Thanks for modelling Christ in manifold ways, in all your work!

Farewell letter from Lesley

Last Parramatta River lunch with jennigan

Walking into work on my last day

Farewell letter from the IT team

The best team ever! (The Advocacy and Partnerships team on our end of year bushwalking adventure)

Now three days on I am in a beautiful state of temporary unemployment and my emotional craziness has dissipated. Ahead of me are a couple of delightfully manic days of Christmas celebration, a beachside holiday and then a brand new job – new people, new work, new place. Now all I am feeling is rest and joy!