Another Good-bye

The buffet line of goodies filled tables on three sides of the room, and the big cake was on the fourth side. As I waited my turn to fill my plate from the Crock Pot creations, salads, snacks, and desserts, I said to a co-worker, "We need to plan a pitch-in for all of us who are STAYing!"
"That's a good idea," she agreed.
It seems we've had several goodie-laden send-offs for colleagues leaving for greener pastures. And more than one has left without a celebration.
Today we said good-bye to Bob Wallace who has worked in a variety of sales and marketing positions at Standard Publishing for, I think he said, 12 years. He's excited about his new position at Lifeway's headquarters in Nashville.
"Everyone there treated me so nice, even the HR department."
"They're big on their history. They have a whole section of one floor reproducing the founder's office."
"My boss has been so flexible with me. 'If you need to take a three-day weekend to get back home to  Cincinnati for your kids and do some work at home, that's no problem. If you need to come in late some Monday, that's no problem; just call me.'"
"They're very committed to family. My boss said you need special permission to work in the office after 5:30. The garage is locked and you need to go through channels to be allowed to stay. He said it's not worth it."
"They're all about the business, but there's a sense of mission you can feel in the meetings and conversations."
"They explained to me their two-year and five-year plans for the department where I'll be working."
I'm happy for him.
And for us who remain behind? I'm glad we have such good cooks and generous buffet contributors!