This Week . . . We Move

This week . . . we move.

Three years ago finishing my degree seemed nothing more than a hope, and realistically unfathomable.

The degree has been earned. And, it was earned. Sweat. Tears. Blood. And more tears. It changed me. It changed us.

And this week, we move. The sun is setting on this chapter of our life adventure.

Most everything is boxed and waiting to be loaded. The van is ready for the cross country trip back to Michigan. And we are about as emotionally ready as we can be.

Grief is real. Grief cannot be dismissed. It cannot be downplayed. Grief is a part of being human. Grief is a part of knowing you have lived and have been touched. Without grief there can be no joy, and without joy there can be no grief.

We have said goodbye to many of the important relationships that we established here. Friday night we had dinner with our dearest friends––a couple who really knew our story. Tonight, our neighborhood is throwing us a goodbye BBQ. Our neighborhood is the most loving and caring neighborhood I have ever lived in. Tomorrow I am going to my internship site to say goodbye to the men who helped transform me.

The boxes tell me we are moving. I can't imagine life without the people we will be returning to, and I can't imagine life without the people we leave behind. The boxes tell me change is waiting. My wife and my heart tell me change has already come to me.

The truck and loaders come Wednesday morning to load the boxes filled with things that prompt memories and reflections. Memories and reflections of grief and joy. When the truck leaves, we leave.

We have three travel options:
1. Seattle to Spokane; Spokane to Livingston, MT; a whole day at Yellowstone, then back to Livingston, MT; Livingston, MT to Mt Rushmore, SD; Mt Rushmore, SD to The Biggest Ball of Twine in MN (made famous by this 'Weird Al' song, which we play and sing over and over); The Biggest Ball of Twine in MN to Rockford, IL; Rockford, IL to Rockford, MI.






2. Pretty much the same as 1, but we travel to Michigan via the Upper Peninsula.






3. We skip the Biggest Ball of Twine if the moving truck will be to our new home sooner than expected.






We expect to be at our new place sometime between Monday August 1 and Wednesday August 3. Part of me will still be in Seattle, and part of me will be in Michigan.