How Do You Say Goodbye?

Today is a sad day for me.

Though I risk sounding quite melodramatic, I simply must share my feelings today.

My absolute favorite tv show in the entire world is ending tonight. I have watched The Office from the beginning of Season 2 and now own almost all of the seasons on DVD. This tv show, unlike any other, has been a HUGE part of my life over the past 9 years.

I can remember watching episodes of The Office the first week or so when I'd moved to Wilmington because it provided me with something familiar when everything around me was unfamiliar. It was a quick remedy for my homesickness.

I can remember lying in bed watching episodes of The Office when I couldn't fall asleep or when I was too afraid to fall asleep during a thunderstorm. It was a source of comfort and peace.

I've watched episodes of The Office with family, friends, boyfriends, animals and coworkers.

I've seen my own life twist and turn just like the characters' lives on The Office have. As they have grown, so have I. As I have changed, so have they. My life isn't exactly like theirs, but looking back over the progression of the last 9 seasons, I can see my own life as a series of subsequent events...one action leading to another and one event producing another.

Just like my own life is scripted.

The office has been with me through many ups and downs in my life and I continue to quote from it regularly. Even to people who haven't seen it. I just explain the scene I'm quoting from until they understand.

I can't remember another television show affecting me as much as this one.

So, after tonight's finale, I know I will probably feel a sense of emptiness. I know it sounds dumb to feel like that over a fictional tv show...but I can't help it. I feel like this show is my family. These people are a part of my life. I want for this to be a real office with real people so badly!

And so, how do you say goodbye to a show that is awkward, comforting, hilarious, heart-wrenching, happy, sad and every other gamut of emotions?

Well, I guess you really can't. Goodbyes are a b.

Jim Halpert:	You're not leaving tomorrow. You're leaving today right?
Michael Scott:	Maybe.
Jim Halpert:	Wow, so that's it huh? Just, four o'clock and you are gone for good.
Michael Scott:	Why am I so sad? Am I doing the wrong thing?
Jim Halpert:	Absolutely not. It's just that sometimes... goodbyes are a bi---h.
Michael Scott:	[pulls out a recorder and speaks softly into it] T-Shirt idea, goodbyes stink.

~April