Abby's Despedida

We had Abby's despedida yesterday afternoon at one of the office's conference room as most people are no longer available due to the busy Christmas season. Since she's now with Marketing, it was her department-mates that organized the event for her. She was with the bank for 10 1/2 years.

As one of her former one-downs, I was asked on-the-spot to say something. I declined as I was already on the verge of tears and all I wanted to tell her I already told her when I learned of her resignation.

I will definitely miss her. When she was my boss, she inspired us to give our best in all we do and can make you do things which you thought you did not have the capability to do. She always have words of wisdom to spare. She was one of the reasons why I am where I am in my career now.

When I took over the headship of my current unit, she always has words of advice to share--especially when I would come running to her for help (she used to do my job). Though we're in opposite sides of the fence, she was often very patient with me and my shortcomings. She always kept me on my toes and I would always keep her in mind whenever I make decisions that would affect my unit and her business.

I have kept her emails whenever she would praise me for whatever good or smart thing that I have done. I read them over and over again as I've aptly titled the folder where I saved her emails "read this when you're down". Her words of praise really meant so much to me that I draw strength from them whenever someone at work makes me feel incompetent. They reinforce my belief in myself and that I am good at what I do.

In my last email to her, I told her that I hope to achieve whatever she has achieved and to be able to inspire my people the way she has inspired me. When I saw her reply, I could not help but shed tears--she said that she has always believed in me and my capabilities. Knowing that someone really believes in you makes the difference.

Like most of the people who recently resigned, she's going to take a breather. Work for the past few months have been...difficult and she said she just got caught up with the negativity and she had to leave before it got any worse. After the picture was taken above, I confessed to her my own fears and how I'm also thinking of leaving. I was surprised when she told me that I should stay and bear it as long as I could and one way to bear it is to stay away from the negativity. It's difficult considering the current atmosphere in the office but I'll try. Anyway, I have 3 months to think about it and I hope I'll be able to make the wise and correct decision.