You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up...Happening Now

Today has been an emotionally taxing day. At my day job, we're about to lose one of the great steady hands at the program management game to retirement, one of our brightest young guns is moving to their next opportunity, and we're getting a new arrival who is going to relieve me of some work I've been inadequately covering for the last three months. Truth be told, tiredness is rearing it's head a bit, and I could use some downtime.

Even in the face of these minor challenges, the sun still managed to rise and bathe the Anacostia River with a golden light the flashed purple in the clouds hovering on the western horizon.

Dawn Breaks over the Anacostia Riverfront

The air has just the faintest tease of autumn in the air. The heat will no doubt return, but this morning was immaculate. Rory Conlan correctly sussed out that I'm a little lower than normal, and though I denied it, I'm not sure he bought my story. Letting friends go is hard. I like to believe that we've a shared crucible over the last four years that is impossible to express in the ceremonies that are just around the corner later this week. We've shared laughter, frustration, elation, struggle, anger, disappointment, and something just short of ecstasy working to bring ships to life. The meals, the time on the road, the endless meetings, and the triumph of getting things accomplished that no one really gave us very good odds of accomplishing should be satisfying, but I can't help but feel the real loss that the departure of these great people is going to cause.

Of course the gaps will be filled, the work will go on, new challenges arise, and new victories materialize. All those things will happen, but today feels like the breaking up of a band, the separation from a long cherished significant other. For the last four years, I've spent more time with these folks than anyone else in my life, and this end of an era saddens me. I don't know if I have the energy for what's about to happen. The world spins on, and the sun is setting on this phase of our lives that we've shared.

Sunset on College Creek - Annapolis, MD

You just can't make this stuff up. It's been a glorious run, and while my experience indicates that the sun will rise again tomorrow, and much of the same features will be largely unchanged, it's a bit of a shock to be faced with the stark reality that our lives are anything but static. It's also a reminder to cherish every single precious moment that we're granted together in the pursuit of worthy goals.

I'm looking forward to what the dawn tomorrow will reveal because right now I'm wishing I could slow down the sun just a tick as it sweeps onward on the arc of our lives.