I have just a few weeks left at Drew. One of the things I keep realizing about this transition is that it’s something I’ve never done before:
Firmly in uncharted territory now.
— Mike Richichi (@chairthrower) February 22, 2016
But I had forgotten something when I tweeted this: As a child, I moved three times before I graduated high school, and my parents moved an additional time right after my graduation, and another time 2 years later while I was in college. As an adult I have moved to a new domicile 4 or 5 times as well. So I do have some experience with transitions, they’re just more personal than professional.
Every time I’ve moved, there would always come a point in the move–usually when the movers had packed everything up and the house was filled with nothing but the clutter of the move–when I didn’t want to be there anymore. There was something about that trigger that made my mind say “Yes, now, it’s time.”
I’m starting to feel that, but it’s not because I’ve physically packed up my office (I’m going to start that soon) but because I’m “packing up” my job. I’m making sure I’m giving things to other people to take on, deliberately not taking on most new things, watching as the organization makes the first steps into doing things without me. Soon, my job itself will be nothing but a cluttered house, empty except for the pieces that are too unimportant to deal with.
And that is when I will be completely ready to go.
None of this means I won’t miss the place or the people. Of course I will, and it will be very hard. But I’m reminded that there’s something about the nature of transitions that readies you for the next step, just in time for when you need it.