Going Home

Goodbye, Ann Arbor. It's been fun, but I guess the time has come to move on. Today I walked into and out of Lincoln for the last time (weird) and tomorrow morning I will be on the road for Virginia. This time, it's real.

I got a lot of questions today from people about how I felt about leaving. Sad? Happy? I think for most of the day I was actually somewhere between anxious and relieved. Anxious about getting everything lined up and in place for the 4th quarter and relieved that by the time I left, I would be finished with it all. Fortunately, everything seems to have fallen into place pretty well and I think I left my classroom in good hands. My sub has been ecstatic with the prep work I've done for her, which I guess is something. I can't help but feeling like I'm leaving things unfinished, though. Which is, of course, because I am. I may or may not hear from them with questions in the coming months, but at this point there isn't much else for me to do. It may bring you some satisfaction to know that I got a little choked up while writing a note for my students on the board before locking up the last time.

Saying goodbye to my hometown is a little different. Not that I'll never come back here, but I may never live in this area again. As I was driving around this evening I was thinking about how easy it is for me to get around here. I don't even have to think about where I am going. I know just where to go to get anything that I need; I know how long it will take me to get there; I know how long they're open. I have friends here, and friends of the family, and even just acquaintances. In Virginia, I know exactly three people: my husband, his friend at work, and my doctor. I've never had to settle in a new place, so it's a little terrifying. I don't know that I will ever again in my life feel as much a part of a "community" as I have felt being here... where everywhere I go, there is someone who knows me or my family or something along those lines. And yet, moving like this must be a very American thing to do, since we have settled across so much of the country. I mean, communities like this one had to have started somewhere, right? I guess now it's time for us to be a part of something new in a new sort of place. Well, Ashburn... here we come.

I am really not such a fan of LOTR, which is playing loudly only a few feet away from my computer. And so, I think I'll go to bed and try to get some sleep before hitting the road in the morning. Pray for me and Elmo as we set off together for our new life. :-)