Tomorrow, I’ll hand in my keys and leave the Bennington Free Library for the last time as a staff member. My shelf and drawer are already cleared out, and I’ve only a few more emails separating me from completing my to-do list. I’ve said goodbye to coworkers who won’t be working on my last day, and I’ve left my contact information so everyone can keep in touch. I’m pleased with the time I’ve spent here, and thankful for the people I’ve spent my work days with.

If I had worked somewhere else, I’m sure I’d have found meaningful work and connections with a different group of people in a different town. If I had arrived a few years earlier or later, the particulars would be similar, but not exactly the same. And the particulars matter. I wouldn’t trade the specific people – Wendy, Diane, Kathy, Linda, Karson, Jeanne, Linda, Chris, Tom, Richard, Teresa, Joyce, Abbey, Ellen, Renee, and Kane the library dog – for any of might-have-beens.