05 Nov A Very Fond Farewell
I was speaking this past week with one of my long-time patients/clients and we were reflecting on the work we had done together and the time we had spent. I’ve had a few of these moments in the last few weeks and as much as I am looking forward to being retired, I will truly miss the people I’ve worked with and come to know in this way. We were talking about the nature of our relationship and how in a broad sense I know very little about his life and living but in another very focused way we got to connect on an extremely deep level. I must admit that more than once in the last short while, I have been brought to tears by thinking that I won’t get to be with these good people any longer, at least not like this.
My last day seeing patients is November 17th. This is the Friday before the week of Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. I thought this was appropriate because on many levels I’m very content and thankful that I am retiring. But before I go, please allow me to say to all the people I’ve spent some of this precious time with that it has been my absolute honor to be invited alongside you in your journey through some of the difficult times of your life. I do now and always have taken that as a sacred trust. Just in this moment of reflecting on the stories, experiences, journeys, feelings, and relationships that you shared with me, I am almost overwhelmed at my good fortune. People tell me all the time that they don’t see how I do my job of hearing all this hard stuff all day, and in truth, it can be heavy. But on that other level, what an honor it is to be trusted that much. Thank you all. I hope that the experience has benefitted you and that the legacy of our work will be that in some small ways, your life has been enriched by it. Mine certainly has.
I also realize, sadly, that my timing could never be perfect in that not all our work is as complete as we might have hoped. Please consider continuing to seek help if you need to and give any new clinicians you try a real chance to connect with you. I am me. They are them. Give it some time and thought before you decide not to continue. Even more specifically, Family Practice Associates has hired a new therapist who is a great clinician and one that can bring her own and fresh perspective to your life. Her name is Rachel Holliday. Rachel is, of course, younger than me but as we have worked together in these past few weeks, she is not only a very well-trained therapist, but she is also very wise and deeply compassionate. I am so grateful that she is the person who will take what I started to build it into what it needs to become.
So, here is the end. If you are reading this and have never sought the help that you need, do it. Take that courageous step of calling someone and making an appointment. It could be a pivotal moment for you. And to those I have worked with, know that though that our time together is now ending, my love and my prayers remain.