And Now She Knows the Rest of the Story

Pam couldn’t understand why I was so stressed the past few weeks!  Well as her post below explains I had been somewhat preoccupied with plans for a Tea Party.  In the works since April, the final two or three weeks had been very busy with last minute details, buying of gifts, and decorating ideas.  The number of times I almost slipped up to ask “Do you think so and so should be invited” or “How much milk do you think we’ll need?” gave me cause to be constantly on my toes.

When I first thought of the Tea Party idea, I decided the best way to keep this a surprise was to do so right under Pam’s nose.  And under the guise of a team building event for one of our departments, that became the plan.  Pam even made her delicious scones for her own party!

I truly commend Pam on her ability to organize and run social events; it is NOT my cup of tea at all, but I believe all went well on Thursday to give her a memorable, and fitting, send off into the next chapter of her life.

Without the help of Cheryl, Stephanie, Amy, Jane and a handful of other dedicated assistants, the Tea Party would never have been the success it was.  Beautiful flowers from a staff member’s garden just added a finishing touch to the room’s ambiance.

Tea Pot sets and scrumptious treats were generously provided by many of our co-workers and helped set the mood.  Special thanks to Eleanor, Dorothy, Lolita and many more.

As this photo shows, I think she can give Vicki Delaney a run for her money in the hat department!

A unique gift was a keepsake Scrap Book,  which Pam is displaying above, where hand-written greetings and best wishes from almost two hundred co-workers (past and present) have been safely stored for Pam to read and re-read at her leisure. Hopefully this will give her an inkling of just how well thought of she is at the workplace.

The clock is ticking now on her final few days with the company and it will be a bittersweet day this Friday when she shuts down her computer for the last time.  I think up until just a couple of weeks ago I had been so busy with planning things I hadn’t really stopped to consider how much I will miss Pam at work.  Thank goodness we have our writing to keep us connected.  Now that the pressure of organizing this tea party is behind me, I'll have to get back to the revision that was put on hold for a little while.

All in all a day full of memories, laughs, and some delicious treats befitting an English Tea!  Happy Retirement Pam - I'm glad our paths crossed and that we co-workers have become the best of friends.

More to come as our writing future unfolds.....

Cheers!

Liz