Friend?

Who do you think the closest people to you are? Your family? Your friends? Your spouse? You will be surprised by my answer: My coworkers! Think about it, they are the ones who I see and spend time with 5 days a week 8 hours a day. They are the ones who know when I am having a bad day or a good day. They are the ones who notice my haircut, my new outfit and my bad mood. They are the first ones to hear about a new event in my life. They are the ones who are in my day to day life, in the details of it, in the little things such as a new painting that I am working on or a new book that I am reading.
I spend the bigger portion of my waking hours at the office. I talk to my coworkers more than I talk to any one els. They are the ones who I talk to about my work out session last night or the movie I saw yesterday or the latest episode of Gray's Anatomy. More than any one els, they know my routine, my life, and my thoughts.
Sure I talk to my friends, my family and my husband, however the extent of our conversations are limited. They were not part of my day. My coworkers are the people who I see day in and day out. They are the ones who know what I like to eat for lunch, how I take my coffee and what kind of cake I like. These are the people who are there for me when I need comforting. They are who I talk to when I had a fight with my husband. They are the ones who listen to my stories. These are the people who make my day or break my day.
I know about M's boyfriend problems and I try to help her with it. I am the one W talks to about her husband and little girl. I know where V is in the process of her home remodeling. I eat lunch with these people daily and sometimes dinners and drinks. We give each other Christmas gifts and birthday cards. We know each other's short comings and strengths. The office is our second home and we are like family.
But when one of us leaves, it is over, that is the story of work. We are as close as family, yet when our paths take different turns we do not look back and we move on. Because if it was not for circumstances we would not have been friends. We were from different worlds that some how collided with each other. We will not miss each other or even think about each other ever again. It was only a job, we were only coworkers. But at some point in time we were the closest people to each other in our lives.