The past month has been almost surreal at times. Since Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists, I guess that is fitting.

As I said a couple of weeks ago in this space, I am leaving. And it’s not something I am used to doing.

I have friends who have held dozens of jobs over the years. Changing job or even career paths every couple of years doesn’t seem to faze them. This is only my fourth job of my adult life and the first one lasted just three months and ended on a sour note. So this is still a new experience for me.

Out of college, I started to work as the assistant manager of a toy store. We thought things were going good with the business until we learned the store would close for good on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas? Bah, Humbug! Here’s your two-week notice.

For the next three years or so, I was a bench jeweler — fixing, sizing and repairing jewelry. It was a fun job, which led to a friendship with the ad salesman for the local paper. My boss was never at the store so I would BS with the guy about music and other things. I started working for that paper and when the salesman left to form his own weekly newspaper, I climbed on board. And I stayed there for the next two decades.

In those three instances, there was a two-week period. At the toy store, the employees commiserated over the loss of jobs and began to drift apart. At the jewelry store, I tried to get as much repair work done as possible before leaving. At the other newspaper, I was wearing a bunch of hats so the final two weeks (plus a few days) went fairly quick.

This departure was longer and filled with the unknown. I gave my boss the heads up more than a month ago that I would be leaving at the end of March. The first two weeks after we told the employees seemed to flow by like normal. The last two weeks were different. We announced the hiring of the new guy who will take over from me. (Cliff McCollum will be the managing editor for Gulf Coast Newspapers and the editor of The Baldwin Times as well.)

That simple announcement brought an air of finality. If I wanted to change my mind it was too late. I guess it also sparked the sense of urgency. Suddenly I realized just how much needed to be done before I could leave. Aside from the work at the newspaper, I had to start cleaning up and packing. Then there was the problem of one person having two vehicles. (Kathy and the critters moved back to Mississippi a while back.) It’s kind of hard to drive them both 300 miles by yourself. All that problem needed was more warm bodies. Someone else drove my car five hours Monday.

Now all that is left is the unknown. Christmas 1988 was the last time I was unemployed without a new job waiting in the wings. That prospect can seem overpowering and ominous at times, especially with the world economy just now trying to pull itself out of a major recession. But I have faith. Somebody up there has a plan for me.

As Matthew said a few years back, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 NIV.

So I will be leaving Tuesday (and this is not an April Fool’s joke) with very fond memories of new friends and with a bit of trepidation.

But on the other end of that five-hour drive next week there will be a loving wife and two big balls of fur just itching to see me. And this might not be the last time you hear from me. The tales of Marcus (a.k.a. The Biscuit Thief) and the former senior editor might return to Baldwin County, at least online.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers.com