There Once Was a Gal...

I left it tidy, bar a scrap of confetti, I left quite ready, the office at the end of the hall.

Bits of glass rinsed from my hair; fragments of limits exceeded. Shiny gold watch on my arm, gabardine folded neatly in the donation bin, dry cleaner fired, alarm clock smashed to bits with a Louisville Slugger, checklist nearly complete.

A protagonist no more in someone else’s play, speaking verse crafted by policy, procedure, and human resources. I speak for myself now, Shit! Damn! Woo hoo!

Endless summer of sorts, trading in suits for shorts, flip flops, and a permanent weekend vibe. Like a kid again, no mother, teacher, or crowded train. No spreadsheet, emails, nor boss to boss me. Neither on time nor late!

It’s great to be free from the office at the end of the hall!

Monday morning, 9:00 am, no meeting for me, bickering of numbers and policies in a conference room better suited to hanging meat, and drinking muddy coffee in poor lighting. Instead, look for me skinny dipping in the deep end of a Jane Austin romance, wine optional but allowed, regardless of the sun’s current cycle. It’s 5:00 pm somewhere!

Yep, it’s great to be free from the office at the end of the hall!

Yep…great, uh, yep. I trust the new resident is comfortable with her head whirling with fresh ideas, her heart swelling with hope, and her freshly minted sheepskin displayed on the wall. It seems like just yesterday, that was me. Equally scared to death and exhilarated to life! Living and breathing this corporate aristocracy to which I had been honorably appointed.

That office really has the best location in the building, that office at the end of the hall.

Away from traffic and noise, facing the greenbelt rather than the parking lot. Freshly painted mere months ago, a sweet, calming peach, it really is a fine office, that office at the end of the hall.

Is the clock on the wall broken? It seems to have stopped just before noon. Odder yet, this gold watch on my wrist seems to have stopped right there as well, just before noon. Tick, Tock…sigh.

My life, which was once a riveting drama, has become a mere limerick….” There Once was a Gal …” A gal who made a difference, a gal who was respected, a gal from the office at the end of the hall.

What there once was, is no more. I am now a “was,” a great, big, fat was! What do us was’s do?

I finally have all the time in the world, yet I have no idea what to do—married no more, fifteen years now, too busy for children. My life summed up to a single gold watch and memories of an office at the end of the hall.

I exited the office at the end of the hall through a virtual birth canal to a new life I am ill-prepared to navigate. Where do I start…what do I do? I want my mommy!

I think I’ll start…one step at a time.