Retirement party

My weeks have been exhausting lately. Work has been a lot, I've been putting in some terribly long hours, and I spend most nights wishing I had the energy to do something creative, but failing utterly. Instead, I sit in a kind of numb shock, occasionally managing to progress in one of the books I've been reading, but mostly occupying that static void of anxious fatigue, unable to decompress before the cycle starts again the next day. One day this week, to my great pride and mild astonishment, I was able to break this cycle a little bit. I left work early, and went to a retirement party for a colleague whose tenure was old enough to vote. I do not consider myself a party person, but this party was wonderful. It was heartwarming. Many current and former colleagues came out for the retiree. Her team members were so sweet and kind in their interactions. Some people say that you should not confuse work with family, but this group acted like they were a family. There was a lot of hugging,…