The end of an era for me

The project I've been part of at the coal-mining company for a year and a half has just been shelved. They brought me in to edit a document "for three days", and, well, one thing led to another, and one week led to another. And then one month led to another.

When I started on the project team, I had just come off an extremely stressful job, which I had left in an extremely painful fashion. (No, I wasn't fired.) I winced at the thought of workplaces. But we needed the income, so when the editing gig loomed out of a thick fog of improbability, I took it. Imagine my surprise! A cheerful and supportive boss, clear direction, friendly and collaborative co-workers! Paradise! Paradise! It was like working on the bridge of the Enterprise. I sat at a computer and edited, and learned heaps about coal mining, and was happy.

But the decision to move the project to the next phase never happened. It was officially shelved on Friday. So we're all moving on.

There may still be more work for me on other projects at the coal-mining company. But I will always treasure the months I spent on a team that really worked. It can happen. And it really is magic when it does.