One of my dearest friends, Marsha, retired a few weeks ago from the non-profit organization she's worked for for about 20 years. Marsha and I met at New Bridge Foundation in Berkeley. She interviewed me for a part-time admin position while I was in my freshman year studying at Berkeley. She was the Director of Administration at the time. I liked her immediately. She was my supervisor, my sister, my mother, my friend, my bridesmaid, and my role model. She taught me so much about life by sharing her past with me, her mistakes, her joys. She's honest and fair and loyal, full of compassion and love for people. Ok....I just realized that this is starting to sound like her eulogy or something depressing. She's not dead or anything! She's a lady who loves her life and BOY does she live it. She doesn't travel much, she's scared to death of flying. But she has a way of going through each and every day of her life finding something to laugh about and finding some way to give to someone. She is seriously the funniest person I know. And she doesn't care if no one else finds it funny, she'll laugh all by herself.
So last night, New Bridge threw her a retirement dinner at Jade Villa on Broadway in Oakland. I hadn't seen most of the people there since I left New Bridge myself right before Lauryn was born. Being out of an office setting for so long, it was so refreshing to be amongst ex-coworkers and managers and laughing about old times. New Bridge itself was like a second home to me for over 9 years. It was so much more than a job. It was for me a place where I felt more alive and aware of my own senses and feelings. A lot of it had to do with the nature of the work they did. Helping people recover from their addictions took alot of counseling and that's what they did best. Everyone was open to talking and constantly working on themselves and each other. Not in a deliberate way, but it just overflowed from what they lived everyday. I loved going to work everyday. And Marsha was one of the main reasons. She made work fun. She made us all laugh at each other and at ourselves and at her. Some days I think we did more laughing and eating than working. Come to think of it, there were a lot of those days. Marsha, Pam (the controller) and I became close friends. The three of us couldn't be more different if you looked at us. We were all different colors and shapes and ages. But something clicked right away and we worked really well together. We talked about everything together as we worked. We even talked about our faith, and found out that we were also true sisters in the Lord, which made it all the sweeter.
Even as our department grew from the 3 of us into 5, 6 and then to 8, the 3 of us stayed close. We had some bumps along the way as we each grew and changed and the department changed and as New Bridge itself grew larger and changed. About a year or so before I left, Marsha was sent to start a new program in Oakland, and I took over for her. Pam left briefly and started her own business, but eventually came back as a consultant (which she still is to this day - although she moved to Vegas a couple of years ago, she flies back every other week to keep things running smoothly.). Despite those bumps, we still laugh like mad when we get together. And it feels so good. Marsha and I never go more than a few months without checking in on each other. Whenever I'm shopping at Vacaville, we'll try to get together for a meal and catch-up. (She lived in Fairfield until recently.) Lauryn thinks Auntie Marsha is loads of fun and giggles everytime they're together.
Everyone at the dinner last night has been touched forever by Marsha's humor and realness and her gift to each one of us. To each she's given something different, but from their words last night, it was so obvious that she made each one of us feel like we were valued and important and that we each taught her something. It's kinda amazing to me that as I think about her career that she's retiring from, I think only about her as a person. She's had her share of professional accomplishments, but at the end of it all, none of it compares to her impact on the people she touched. She said last night that she's looking forward to just sitting for a while. I'm so glad that she has her wonderful husband, Rosevelt, to grow old with, and a beautiful daughter and 3 talented grandsons to keep her young forever.
I love you Marsha and congratulations on your retirement. You deserve it.
From left to right: April (Marsha's daughter's best friend), Sylvia (Clinical Director), Nancy (admin), Kosta (CEO), Marsha, Me, Crystal (Program Director).
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