Hey! I said, You can keep my things, they've come to take me home...

This is a story about support, letting go and how food can (hopefully) heal.

With all the craziness this week, I knew I had to make my way into the old office to finish packing and I was kinda anxious about it...

What? You say...Ms Cool-as-a-Cucumber, nervous? Yup, you see...

...I didn't want to break down...True, I shed a couple on Friday...but none since...and I was really afraid it was gonna happen when I went through the elevator doors and down the hall to my cubby.

Now I have nothing against a good cry...it can be a really cleansing release...but it can also be full of self pity, and I'm just not there.

So, with the support of my good friends, especially Pammy whose arms, little did I know, were keeping my spine straight, I was able to pack essentials into a couple boxes.

That's the support.

Going through my cubby under the caring watch of my former coworkers, I left assorted 'stuff' hangin on the walls and on the shelves...things that made my work space comfy and quirky...things I had no place to keep.

One friend - who actually has an office with walls! - asked for a memento. I told her she didn't need something to remember me by...we'd be in touch. But she pressed and I acquiesced...happily. And what I gave her surprised even me: A framed Degas ballet-dancer print. I wasn't going to put it up at home and was no longer sentimental about it.

That's the letting go.

I drove up to my folks next...bringing them my (spectacular) fried chicken for dinner...I think I've mentioned it's one of my Mom's faves and after her run-in with a tree, she needed something special. I was so happy to high-tail it up there bearing sustenance...and I think it helped her feel a bit better.

That's the beauty of food....