Moving on and Appreciating What's Behind Me

I have worked at my current job in the food industry for about five years. I have worked this kind of job for about twenty years. I did work in another field for about five years after I finished college, but was unhappy in that field. Perhaps, my unhappiness was a result of following a dream set forth by my mother. She wished that I follow in her footsteps because she believed it to be the most successful path. I soon found out that office work was not for me. Not the work itself, per say, but the environment. I worked with stuffy, snotty women that made you feel beneath them at any chance they got. Definitely not my place.
The place where I currently work has been like my home away from home. I do consider my coworkers as my friends. When I started there, I was a different person. I was on drugs. I lived day to day as if I had not a care in the world. I didn't, at the time. I didn't care about anyone else, nor did I care for myself. Finally, I met my husband. He actually worked with me there. We were engaged within six months of meeting each other. He pretty much said he would be my husband if I were to sober up. I jumped at the chance. My life was spiraling down and I knew I was going nowhere. I loved him and I knew he was the best thing that had crossed my path. I couldn't let him go. So, I sobered up and now have been married for three years.
My coworkers/friends have seen me through all of my transitions. They have never passed judgement on me. They were just along for the ride. I know that if I had worked in any other place, they would have dismissed me in an instant.
In the food industry, you meet a lot of different people. They have their own paths they are walking down as well. Having a place you can go to every day and talk to someone is irreplaceable. Even if they can't help you in your struggle, they at least listen.
I never expected to find a work environment where I felt so at ease. I could be myself. I didn't have to act like anything I didn't want to feel that day (except with the customers, of course). I also didn't have to hide anything about myself. They completely accepted me. They didn't expect me to believe in the same religious path as them (which has been the most important thing to me). They didn't expect me to act any kind of way. They only expected me to show up and do my job. They are the most real people you can find in the work place.
I will be leaving this job soon in order to follow a personal dream of mine. I am taking the leap of working from home as a writer with the full support of my husband. He wants nothing more than for me to be happy.
I say all of this to show my appreciation for the people I have worked with for the past five years. I will always remember them for the love, laughter, and friendship they have given me. I wish them nothing but happiness and success.
Onward to a new way of life!