my best work friend is moving on to greener pastures in the workforce…happy for her, sad for me. of course,we plan to stay in touch and have even gone so far as to devise ways to accomplish this (we don’t live near each other), but it is still happy/sad. In The Happiness Project (http://www.happiness-project.com/), author Gretchen Rubin talks about this feeling (she calls it ‘happy/unhappy’ in her book), when the thing that makes you happy also makes you unhappy…one of her examples is eating more than one cupcake…i can relate to that.
how to officially say goodbye? usually at my company we offer up a cake of some sort (although more often than not, my departing friend is the cake baker/procurer) and a gift certificate to a local business.
her favorite cake is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting; guess i’d better get a-bakin’~http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Deep-Dark-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx seems like as good a place to start as any.
how do you say goodbye to (favorite) work colleagues?
what are some favorite goodbye gifts that you have given (or received) under similar circumstances?
here is a link to some goodbye poems (may also be useful in case any of you are cardmakers or scrapbookers ): http://www.poem-poetry.com/goodbye-poems.html
Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker 
an address book…that’s a great idea. we actually have been doing that for our most recent leave-takers…you’ve reminded me to check on the status of it for my friend. and thanks for the other ideas. 🙂
You could write a whole book on how to say goodbye! The best goodbye gifts I’ve received are pictures and personalized poems – you know the kind where co-workers insert all the funny things you’ve done, and what they liked best about you. I’ve always thought an address book with everyone’s picture, phone numbers, and other contact information would also make a good gift…..that is if you want to stay in touch!
Susan