I may have a tear in my eye as I write this.

On September 19, 2017 I was told by the owner of a very small family company that they could no longer afford to keep me. I’d worked for them almost 20 years. She cried when she let me go.

I built their first website in 1999 when I was a freelance designer.

I moved my young family back to Alaska from Seattle in 2003 when they offered me a job to run their web business full-time. I did this for 7 years as an employee, then another 7 years as a contractor when I left the state.

The company was run by a husband and wife team, and on March 17, 2015 the husband, my friend Chris Fondell, passed away from a stroke. He was 57. I spoke at his funeral, and was not able to keep it together. I have yet to meet a harder worker, or hear a louder laugh.

They gifted me the wedding band I’m wearing as I type this.

Suffice to say, we have history.

The truth is that I bear some responsibility for being let go. After all, there would have been money to keep me If I’d been better at my job.

Getting let go was difficult, but it was done with such grace and genuine care that I still wanted them to succeed, even in that moment. I still want them to succeed.

It’s cliche but true: when one door closes, another one opens. I started a small business that’s aligned with my natural interests, and I enjoy my work more than ever.

The web business of my old employer declined after I was let go. Some of the decline was due to my absence and some because of shifts in the industry.

I still occasionally consult for them and help when I can. I hope they turn it around and become more successful than ever.

So, why the tear-in-the-eye now?

I’ve seen this question for weeks, but never felt the time was right to answer it until today.

Ten minutes before I began to write this answer, at 5:26 PM 9/26/2019, my old boss made an enormous contribution to a kickstarter campaign supporting my new business. The largest single contribution of the entire campaign by a wide margin.

I feel a bit overwhelmed.

Two years ago this week I got fired. I didn’t feel so good back then.

Now I feel gratitude.