This morning Jeff got us into the groove by turning up Shania Twain. “What makes you feel like a woman, Corenna?” he asked. “Men’s shirts, short skirts, oh, oh, oh!” Shania answered.

He, Chris and I laughed at the song’s ridiculousness. Far from getting us into the groove, the music at least brought humor to our Monday morning.

Man, I feel like…we’re going to miss Jeff like crazy. Who else could get away with blasting Shania Twain at any time of the week, let alone the first thing on a Monday morning?

The past couple weeks at Cultivate have been dismal. Jeff and Alison announced that they’re moving to Burlington, Vermont, on Nov. 1st, and although the rest of us feel really happy for them, we’re not so happy for ourselves. It feels as though an era has ended, a dream has dissolved, an endeavor has expired.

In days, Cultivate will be a new company. We’ll spend several weeks trying to figure out how to fill Jeff’s gap. It will be tough. No, it will be impossible. Yet we’re not the first company to experience the loss of a loved coworker, nor will we be the last. Life will go on, and Cultivate probably will too. Next Monday we’ll return to work as a team of five, trying to get back into the groove. But sadly Jeff–and therefore, Shania–won’t be here to help us.