When it's time to let go

Well today is a day that I'm either going to regret or it will be one of my best decisions ever.  Today, after five and half years, I decided to resign from my position at Silpada Designs.  It has been a great run for me...in fact it has been the longest I have ever stayed at one company....Now, I know when people read this their going ask questions as to where I'm going....well where I'm going is to Florida...what i will be doing I have know idea, but I know God has a bigger plan for me then even I can envision.  Why Florida people might ask?  Well, let's see uh warmer weather and no state income tax are a couple of contributing factors. So, why leave if you haven't got something secured? Well, sometimes in life you have take some risk and usually I'm not much of a risk taker, but I think what I'm doing is taking a big leap of faith....call me crazy....tell me I have gonads for doing this....whatever you think it probably describes me.  So, what was the main thing that made my decision as to leaving?  Okay, I will tell you....It wasn't anything against my bosses at all...in fact there were great people to work with...In fact, Dennis didn't even blame me one bit for leaving.  Ed was sad to see me go, but he understood my reason. The major reason for leaving was no advancement within the company.  For five and half years, I have applied for multiple positions within company and never really saw the light of day.  Last year at this time, I thought about leaving silpada then, but decided not too because I was getting to close to my five year anniversary.  The last position I applied for was multimedia production coordinator's job. Most of the qualifications for the job I had already done...what hurt me was I hadn't done much digital editing particularly the software system of "aftereffects." When, I didn't get the position....I was really down I thought what do I have to do to move up...do a little song and dance number? I thought about it, prayed about it and was wondering where my next move was going to be.  I mean have degree in communications and I don't think this place is using my skills and talents to where it could be of good use. 

So, today as I was finishing up my last day at work, I decided to say my last goodbyes to people who I have known since the beginning, people who I have shared many stories with and even people who I barely talked too or hardly ever knew.  I thought it would take about a half hour...it turned out to be more like and hour and half.  I honestly didn't really know how beloved I was by so many people until I said my goodbyes...if this sounds like I'm getting emotional then yeah I am.  I turned my badge key as well as my janitor's keys into Ed as he and I both realized that this was it.  When I first came to this place, I didn't realize this was a seasonal job until two days after I had gotten hired. Little did I know that this was where I was going to stay.   In five and half years...I went from full filling orders to being a janitor.  I have gotten myself debt free because of this place, bought my first car with my own cash, went to trips that I only dreamed about, volunteered for fanfest, lost my grandmother and my dad all in that same period. I also went from a guy who had very little confidence to kind of knowing who I am...not that i don't have my bad moments. In conclusion, I really do have to thanked Silpada for the five and half years they gave me.  However, like all chapters in book it has come to end and it was time to let go and start up this new great adventure.