Day 263. All things must pass. (20/9/13)

Some days you sit down to do this and there's nothing to talk about. Absolutely nothing. They're the days when you start scrabbling round for anything in the back of your memories that may come out as vaguely interesting or hold some kind of point.

Then there are the days that give you something to play with, a news story, an event in work, a song that sparks something in your soul but generally nothing momentous; you don't get many days when you have something momentous to talk about.

Today though, today is momentous.

Today is J's last day in work. After 25 years with the same bank she's leaving to go solo, to become (as I may well have mentioned) a company all of her own. She actually finishes next Friday but has a week's holiday so today's her last 'working' day.

And fittingly she is leaving from the same building that she started in 25 years ago, the same room that she left from when she first left this branch in order to move to Hull with me so that we could start our life together.

Last time she left this room (theoretically unlikely to return) was late November 1989. As a leaving present she was given a cat. A fairly unusual leaving gift in fairness but one of her friends knew that she/we wanted a cat for our new/first ever house. Somewhere there's a photo of J holding out 'this...animal' at arms length in as awkward a 'what am I supposed to do with this?' manner as you can imagine. J's friend had adopted and named for us the quietest, most timid cat in the RSPCA. We had the world's most neurotic cat. He was great.

I am assured that there will be no cats presented this time round, although the same friend has pointed out that there is a "white kitten with a Hitler moustache which hides under her brother's bed, it might have mental deficiencies" so there is always the possibility....

The 25 years between J's start date and today have been pretty damn kind to us. Work wise J has gone from an office junior through mortgage selling, branch management, Learning and Development and regional management to the point where she has a fairly unique skill set which has made her infinitely employable under her own aegis.

Non workwise? That 25 years is pretty much our entire life together, it's the time that we've made homes, built a family, watched our family grow to the point that one of the two lads is a year away from leaving home, grown older, possibly wiser in places, got to the point where one of us is about to turn 50 while the other has a few years left yet but looks a damn sight further away from that landmark than she actually is.

It's brought us to a year where, as I continually point out, we keep changing everything that we are. I couldn't have taken on half the things that I've done this year without J's support and belief but it's J that's making the major change, J that's putting herself right out into the unknown, sure in the knowledge that she has the capabilities to be excellent at anything she does.

So a chapter ends. A fairly long chapter admittedly and one that's closing with a large degree of emotion but it has to close so the next one can open. And the next one will be incredible.

25 years on and we're still together and J is still my best friend.

My wife is fabulous, the cards that she's received from the colleagues that she's leaving behind are testament to exactly how fabulous she is and the regard that she's held in by everybody who knows her.

I'm lucky, I get to keep her. I am always, eternal immensely proud of the incredible woman that I'm married to.

More so today than ever. X