How to say Goodbye.

If you haven't left a job recently I highly recommend it. People say the nicest things!
I'm as guilty as the next person of leaving too many things unsaid until the last minute. But I am trying to say them now, as are many others. A departure puts thing into a much bigger frame; suddenly the small annoyances are just that, small. And what emerges from the larger canvas is the sweep of time, the lessons learned, and the impact people have had over years instead of minutes. Sometimes it takes longer to put an experience or a person into its place in your life. Sometimes it takes months or years after they're gone to more fully appreciate them.
I've finished writing my final thoughts for Friday's broadcast. I've done this several times over my career and learned one thing: the moment always surprises and overwhelmes me. This Friday, behind the camera I'll be reading my goodbye into, will be some of the people who have had the most impact on Global National. They're coming to Ottawa to bid me farewell and begin the process of renewal with Dawna. When I left Midday at the CBC I was a blubbering fool by the end of it. When I left Good Morning America I taped a farewell that had me bungy jumping. (allegory for something less dangerous than hosting a morning show!). When I bid a private farewell to ABC and Peter Jennings gave me a gift of an American flag I was speechless. This time the departure is much more personal and difficult. I won't get through it with some of the people who I care most deeply for watching off-camera. I think I'll record it early.