[dquail]

Fair enough. There are real and powerful emotions at play.

But it's a bit of a stretch to suggest an employee at a company founded 5 years ago has "poured their life into."

Personally, I'll reserve evocative language of loss for things beyond a strategic shift at the office - but I shouldn't judge others who view things differently.

[depoll]

Consider, briefly, that the relevant question is what it meant to the OP, and clearly for her it had that impact. Having been through many of the same experiences (I, too, was an early Parse engineer, though I left about a year after the acquisition), I can tell you those feelings are real, and that it's definitely possible to form that kind of attachment to your work in well under 5 years.